At a presentation by NJDOT on Wednesday, residents can view the new design and gather information.
By: Audrey Levine
Hillsborough residents are encouraged to attend a public presentation by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), during which representatives will present revised and shortened plans for the Route 206 bypass.
Click here to view the plan.
According to Committeeman Carl Suraci, the presentation set for Wednesday will be mainly a question and answer session allowing residents to view the new design and gather information.
"Hopefully residents will come out to see the significant changes made," Mr. Suraci said. "The NJDOT can take any input into consideration."
Tim Greeley, spokesman for the NJDOT, said they will be bringing maps of the proposed road and are asking resident to review the proposal and make comments.
"We would like to hear any concerns regarding traffic, proposed speed limits and anything else," he said.
Mr. Suraci said there were several changes made to the original plans for the bypass, which will run east of the current Route 206, generally to reduce costs and limit traffic problems. One of the most significant alterations to the initial plans is ending the bypass at Mountainview Road in Hillsborough instead of at Pike’s Run Development in Montgomery Township.
In addition to easing traffic with the change, Mr. Greeley said there were concerns with the initial plan’s routing through Pike’s Run, which is mainly commercial and residential properties. He said Mountainview Road has more open space.
The bypass will still begin as a four-lane highway at Somerville Road, and will become a two-lane boulevard in the vicinity of Steinmetz Road, near Amwell Road, Mr. Greeley said.
Traffic lights will also be placed at various points along the bypass to allow for easier traffic flow, including at Hillsborough Road, where there was originally supposed to be an overpass. The addition of the traffic lights will allow for entering and exiting the bypass.
Mr. Greeley said the bypass project has gone through several revisions as Hillsborough develops possible plans to turn the existing section of Route 206 into more of a main street.
"The project arose from township interest in creating a localized roadway," he said. "The bypass would be more of a highway for people needing to bisect that area."
According to Mr. Suraci, the entire project, which is being done through Maser Engineering, is estimated to cost about $110 million.
The June 13 presentation will be held at 4 p.m. at the Hillsborough
Township Municipal Complex on South Branch Road.

