Montgomery optimistic in wake of meeting on Route 206 bypass

Consensus reached at state session that satisfies township’s needs, official says

By: Greg Forester
   MONTGOMERY — Montgomery Township officials are optimistic about a revised Route 206 bypass plan unveiled at a meeting with the state Department of Transportation this week.
   The meeting, attended by representatives from Montgomery, Hillsborough, and Somerset County on Tuesday, was hailed as a "smart solutions" workshop designed to yield a viable alternative to a plan that has been on the drawing board for 20 years.
   "The meeting was very, very productive," said Montgomery Deputy Mayor Louise Wilson. "The two towns and the DOT worked together to forge a consensus."
   While Montgomery officials would not go into the alternative’s details, they did say it satisfies their needs, which in Montgomery’s case, was a bypass ending north of the intersection of Route 206 and 601.
   Although the alternative still needs further approval from Hillsborough Township and the state, Montgomery officials remain optimistic that they have finally delivered a solution to a decades-old problem.
   While the state offered both the original plan and the alternative as solutions at Tuesday’s meeting, Hillsborough agreed to take a look at the alternative that Montgomery was pushing, Montgomery Committeeman John Warms said.
   "Hillsborough is OK with the alternative if they can get approval for the changes," said Mr. Warms. "If these problems are worked out, they’ll agree."
   At the intersection of Route 206 and 601, according to reports done by Montgomery Township, southbound travel divides, with approximately 70 percent heading down Route 206 and 30 percent turning off onto Route 601.
   The original bypass plan had the end of the four-lane freeway at Belle Mead-Griggstown road, south of the split, effectively dumping 100 percent of the traffic onto roads already swamped with cars, according to Montgomery officials.
   For this reason, the alternative that Montgomery Township pushed for many years terminated at a point north of the intersection.
   Hillsborough’s need for the bypass partially stems from its Master Plan, which designates the future "main street" area as the section of Route 206 bypassed by the proposed roadway.
   The removal of heavy traffic from that section of roadway is key to Hillsborough’s plans.
   With the selection of an alternative shorter than the original $190 million bypass plan some money will be saved, Montgomery officials said.
   "The design changes will not require a new Environmental Impact Study, which would delay the construction start significantly," Ms. Wilson said. "The DOT said the project should start sometime in the first half of 2009."
   Montgomery officials applauded DOT officials’ receptiveness to their proposals at the session, calling them "forward-thinking."
   "Their focus on a situation that everyone could live with spoke volumes," said Ms. Wilson.
   Officials from all parties are set to reconvene on March 26 following Hillsborough’s expected review of the proposed changes.