Cranbury to receive grant
By: Lacey Korevec
The township will received state funding to help pay for construction of Liberty Way.
Cranbury is getting a $255,000 grant to put toward construction of the road, which runs from South River Road to Station Road and is designed to divert truck traffic from the township’s section of Route 130 to N.J. Turnpike Exit 8A.
The money comes from the $78.75 million 2007 Transportation Trust Fund Municipal Aid Program, according to a press release from Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, whose district includes Cranbury Township.
The portion of the road that has been completed so far has been paid for through a number of grants and by warehouse developers whose buildings border the road.
Township Administrator Tom Witt said the township applied for the Transportation Trust Fund grant and was hopeful that it would receive money for the project.
"We apply every year and every year we’ve been successful in at least getting some money," he said. "We were very optimistic when we applied to the grant that we would receive some funding since there’s prior history of them funding the Liberty Way project."
Mr. Witt said he does not know yet what part of the project the money will go toward.
One cost township officials have been concerned about is finding money to build a two-lane bridge that will cross the east part of Brainerd Lake and Cranbury Brook and connect parts of the road. The county paid for the design and engineering of the bridge and has agreed to split the cost of the bridge, which is estimated to be between $11 million and $16 million.
"It’s a large project," Mr. Witt said. "Hopefully, the money will be able to offset the cost of the bridge or help complete one other section that’s not done."
Mr. Witt said the completion of Liberty Way is part of the Township’s Master Plan, and is an initiative the Township Committee wants to see accomplished because the road will relieve traffic pressure on Route 130.
"It would keep a lot of truck traffic off of Route 130," Mr. Witt said. "And any traffic heading to the Turnpike from Station Road, there would be no reason for trucks whatsoever to hit Route 130 with Liberty Way completed."
He said annual grants from the trust fund have had a substantial impact in the construction of the road so far.
"This $255,000 puts us over $1 million that the Transportation Trust Fund has awarded us for the Liberty Way construction project," he said.

