Number of accidents on 10-mile section prompts a three-day study.
By: Gwen Runkle
Due to the abundance of automobile accidents on Route 1, a team of federal and state transportation officials will take a close look at a 10-mile section of the highway over three days next week.
The Safety Impact Team includes representatives of the state Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Administration.
The team will examine Route 1 from Interstate 295 in Lawrence to the border of South Brunswick and Plainsboro to try to improve the safety of Route 1 and reduce the number of accidents, fatalities and injuries that occur each year.
"It will be a three-day effort," said Hassan Raza, assistant administrator of the the FHWA’s New Jersey office. "On May 19, the group will sit down and look at data the number of accidents, amount of traffic and roadway features, such as road width and pedestrian facilities on Route 1."
On Tuesday the team will go out in the field to Route 1 and conduct a detailed survey, verifying what was found in analysis, Mr. Raza said.
"The team will also look at roadside objects, poles, signs, etc., to determine their role in accidents," he added.
Then on Wednesday the team will begin to develop an action plan or strategies for improving Route 1’s safety.
"An outline will be developed on the 21st," Mr. Raza said. "But it will take close to 30 days for a formal, final report. NJ DOT Commissioner Jack Lettiere is expected to hold a press conference on the 22nd."
A location for the press conference has not been determined, he said.
Commissioner Lettiere was not available for comment and Anna Farneski, DOT spokeswoman, did not return calls for comment.
"The goal is to find out why accidents happen and what can be done to reduce them," Mr. Raza said. "Each organization involved will be able to provide their own unique perspective."
For instance, the FHWA’s focus is on roadways themselves, while the NHTSA focuses on drivers and the FMCA on trucks, he said.
He also pointed out this type of group analysis and first-hand study could serve as a model for work elsewhere in New Jersey and the region.
"If this is a success, it could be expanded to other locations as well," Mr. Raza said. "There are many other transportation corridors out there like Route 1."
Route 1 was selected to be studied first, he said, because of its congestion, pedestrian crossing issues, varying number of lanes and accident rates.
In 2001, there were 7,329 crashes and 20 fatalities on Route 1 in New Jersey, he said. Route 9 is second with 4,114 crashes and 12 fatalities.
Recently, area politicians, such as Sen. Peter Inverso (R-Hamilton) and Bill Baroni, a Republican state Assembly candidate in the 14th Legislative District, have attempted to have the 10-mile section up for study lengthened to include all of South Brunswick.
But Mr. Raza said the amount of the highway to be analyzed will not be changed.
"Our schedule has been made up and there would be no time to gather the additional data necessary for study," he said.
And while the FHWA is taking a leadership role in the Safety Impact Team, Commissioner Lettiere is the brains behind the concept, Mr. Raza said.
"This would not be happening without the commissioner," he said. "He came up with the idea to set up a team of representatives from all the agencies involved to take a look at this section of roadway. We’re looking forward to the review and believe it will be beneficial."

