Second stage in effort to cut congestion at intersection
By: Nick Norlen
Princeton and Montgomery township officials cut the ribbon Thursday on the recently completed connector road near the Route 206 intersection with Cherry Valley Road and Princeton Avenue the second in a series of road projects to improve circulation on the roadway that bridges the municipalities.
The new traffic pattern now prohibits left turns from northbound and southbound Route 206 to Cherry Valley Road and Princeton Avenue.
Access to those roads is provided by the connectors, the newer of which utilizes a portion of the PNC Bank parking lot to connect Route 206 to Cherry Valley Road.
In addition to improved circulation, the new connector will allow Princeton Township to close Hillside Avenue, as requested by residents who have complained of cut-through traffic, Princeton Township Engineer Robert Kiser said.
He said the township expects DOT approval for the closure within the next few weeks.
Mr. Kiser said the project’s $350,000 price tag, which included construction as well the necessary property acquisition, was funded in part by a $150,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation.
The balance of the cost will come from taxes and off-track contributions from developers, who agreed to the payments during their approval processes, Mr. Kiser said.
He said the improvements, pursued in conjunction with the Route 206 Vision Plan, were initiated because of rush-hour congestion and the number of accidents at the location.
Mr. Kiser said the level of cooperation between the two townships has been "really unprecedented."
The goal is to calm traffic and make the entire stretch more pedestrian friendly, he said, noting the "possibility of installing some roundabouts and islands and walkways, where feasible, to accomplish that puzzle."
The first connector, named Dunn Way, was completed by Montgomery in July 2006 and circles around the Sunoco gasoline station at the corner of Princeton Avenue and Route 206.
According to Montgomery Township Deputy Mayor Louise Wilson, the Township Committee’s liaison to the Transportation Advisory Committee, it was built for approximately $1 million, with $175,000 coming from a DOT grant.
Despite the price, which resulted from unforeseen costs involved in the necessary land acquisition, the road has definitely made a positive impact, Ms. Wilson said.
"With the opening of its sister road on the Princeton side, we can take out a couple more left turn movements at 206 and that will help us help alleviate congestion," she said. "I’m looking forward to the next piece of the puzzle."
That piece the last will come in the form of another, longer loop road, planned for the northwest corner of Montgomery Township, that would connect Route 206 with Cherry Valley Road through a Public Service Electric & Gas Co.-owned property that the company has planned as the site of a substation, she said.
She said construction of the new road could occur in the new few years, depending on whether PSE&G submits an application by the end of the year, as company officials have said.

