BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer
State funding has been made available for the Main Street bypass, a planned roadway that was first proposed in Sayreville’s master plan 20 years ago.
The 3-mile-long bypass will function as the borough’s new primary east-west route and will run alongside the Raritan River. It is expected to stretch from River Road to Chevalier Avenue or another point in the vicinity of routes 9 and 35 and the Garden State Parkway.
The state Department of Transportation [DOT] has earmarked $10 million over the next five years for the bypass project.
Local officials agree the bypass will relieve traffic on congested roads such as Washington Road, Main Street and others that connect the area’s major thoroughfares. Engineer David Samuel of CME Associates has sketched a conceptual version of the new roadway, which has yet to be designed. The sketch was displayed during a press conference called Monday by state Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski, who announced that the funding was being made available.
Wisniewski called the bypass a “vital link in our area’s transportation infrastructure.”
“This project is going to improve traffic, not just in the borough of Sayreville, but for the entire region as well,” Wisniewski said.
“Anyone who lives in or commutes through the borough knows this project is long overdue,” he said, adding that the road will improve the quality of life for borough residents. Wisniewski thanked the DOT and its commissioner, Kris Kolluri, for supporting the project.
Rory Zach said his concerns about traffic in the borough prompted him to campaign on the issue last year with fellow Democratic Councilman Dennis Grobelny.
“This project will go a long way toward alleviating traffic issues in town,” Zach said during the press conference.
Kolluri said in a written statement that the project will become a reality for residents and commuters in need of relief from traffic congestion through a $2 million allocation for the design, secured by Wisniewski.
Borough Council President Thomas Pollando said the town has been unable to finance the project. Parts of the road have been constructed, however, by the developers of neighboring properties. The DOT funding will pay to complete the work.
“It is great that the [DOT] has provided much-needed funding to complete this project,” Pollando said.
First drawn up by Samuel 20 years ago, the bypass will sit to the north of Main Street and run parallel along the east-west portion of Main Street. Samuel anticipates the road to be one lane wide in each direction with a shoulder.
Samuel said it is possible that the project could be finished in five years. The design stage of the project will take about three years, depending on how long it takes the borough to acquire the necessary permits, he said.
Samuel said that the alignment of the road has been mostly resolved and that the road conforms to Middlesex County Utilities Authority [MCUA] right-of-way regulations. The developers of the Winding River homes at Sayreville Boulevard and the Sheffield Town neighborhood on Boehmhurst Avenue have already constructed parts of the road. He added that Neptune RTS, a new factory off River Road, is going to construct another part of the road along its frontage.
Samuel said the bypass will be an adjunct to highways such as routes 1 and 9.
Issues such as access points to local roads along the bypass and the roadway’s environmental impact will be addressed in the design stage and will be subject to public hearings.
Mayor Kennedy O’Brien told the Suburban there is a great need for transportation improvements due to changes in the borough and the volume of commuting that takes place. Two decades ago, approximately 5,000 people were employed in the borough’s major industrial plants, he said. Now, these plants only employ about 300 people, he estimated.
“That makes us a bedroom community,” O’Brien said. “This is the first step in a long process of easing congestion caused by commuter traffic.”