Police say intersections remain troublesome
By: Michelle McGuinness
Despite improvements made in the past few years, police say there are still some intersections on Route 130 in Cranbury that are dangerous.
Cranbury police Sgt. Frank Dillane of the traffic safety unit said improvements to the Dey Road intersection and Half Acre Road intersection have made traveling through Cranbury safer. However, he said the Cranbury Circle is antiquated and hazardous.
"The circle has the same design as when I started here 20 years ago," he said. "The volume of traffic has increased tremendously."
However, Sgt. Dillane said any improvements to the Cranbury Circle and other intersections are up to the state Department of Transportation, not the township.
Sgt. Dillane said the intersection of Dey Road and Route 130 is one of the locations where the police see the most frequent motor vehicle accidents.
However, he said improvements made to the Dey Road intersection about five years ago by the DOT has reduced the number of accidents that occur there.
Among those improvements were the addition of turning only lanes on Dey Road and on Route 130.
Sgt. Dillane also said the DOT moved the traffic signals at the intersection off the median to the side of the road so motorists are less likely to hit them.
"The improvements they have made on Dey Road have helped tremendously," he said.
Sgt. Dillane said similar improvements were made in 2006 to the intersection of Half Acre Road and Route 130.
Like Dey Road, the traffic signals at the Half Acre Road intersection were moved from the median of the road to the sides and turning only lanes were added to Route 130 and Half Acre Road.
Cranbury Township Engineer Cathleen Marcelli said the DOT made other improvements as well, including widening the Half Acre Road intersection.
"The improvements have been made but there are still some outstanding issues," Ms. Marcelli said.
She said electrical changes still need to be made to the relocated traffic signals. Ms. Marcelli was not sure when the DOT plans to make those changes.
"It was an off track improvement required as a result of an increase in traffic," Ms. Marcelli said.
The DOT did not say it had any specific plans for improvements to intersections in Cranbury when contacted.
For the future, Sgt. Dillane said he knows the DOT has plans to improve both the intersection of Station Road and Route 130 and the Route 535 jughandle.
On Station Road, Sgt. Dillane said he believes, based on preconstruction meetings, that the DOT plans to add a turning lane and update the traffic signals.
For the Route 535 jughandle, Sgt. Dillane said there are plans to widen the opening of the jughandle and update the traffic signals.
He said he isn’t sure when the projected start dates for either of the projects are because any improvements made to the roads are up to the DOT to determine.
Sgt. Dillane said he hopes the DOT will eventually plan improvements for the Cranbury Circle, which he said is the intersection where the most accidents occur.
"Hopefully, there are plans for the circle at some point," Sgt. Dillane said.

