By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — Design work for a new bridge to carry Route 1 traffic over the Millstone River should be completed by the conclusion of the spring, state officials said Monday.
”We are moving ahead with the design work and hope to start construction sometime in the spring of 2009,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation spokeswoman Erin Phallon.
The $20 million project calls for a brand-new bridge to replace the current span, which was originally built in 1928. Despite being rehabilitated in 1959, it is recognized to be structurally deficient to the extent that a new bridge is mandated, officials said.
The new bridge represents a major upgrade to the current structure. It will adhere to modern design standards for bridges, and will provide motorists with a safer thoroughfare over the river, which divides Middlesex and Mercer counties and also serves as the West Windsor-Plainsboro border.
It will be wider by 50 feet, allowing for the installation of shoulders and sidewalks, according Ms. Phallon, who said the DOT expects a construction time of slightly under two years.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh of West Windsor said the project fits in with statewide efforts to replace much of the state’s aging infrastructure, especially its bridges.
”The reason, of course, is that the bridge itself has gotten to the point where we really need to fix it,” said Mayor Hsueh.
In West Windsor alone, two bridges are seeing significant work this year, the Alexander Road bridge over the Amtrak rail line and the Old Trenton Road bridge over Bear Brook.
The Millstone River bridge is hoped to be completed in time for the new Princeton HealthCare System facility slated for the 158-acre FMC Corp., which occupies properties adjacent to the Millstone River bridge.
The bridge, while not increasing traffic-capacity in the area, will be a safety improvement for the traffic that could come with the new hospital, Plainsboro officials said.
”It is a structural and safety kind of project,” said Township Administrator Robert Sheehan. “They (the state) have assured us it is moving forward.”
The project’s two-year construction time gives it a completion date similar to when the new hospital is slated to open.
DOT officials maintained Monday that the construction will not result in any lane closures in an area that is the site of frequent rush-hour traffic jams.
Mr. Sheehan said that Plainsboro staff has been meeting with representatives of both the DOT and West Windsor Township to keep abreast of plans for the bridge, which could eventually accommodate a bus stop.
While this project is set to move ahead, other DOT projects slated for West Windsor are being held up by the state because of perceived delays in redevelopment planning for the township’s 350-acre zone near the Princeton Junction train station.
Plans for an expansion and extension of Vaughn Drive through the redevelopment area and other related improvements in the Penns Neck area will not be funded until progress has been made in redevelopment, according to a letter from the DOT addressed to Mayor Hsueh.
However, that same letter said the Millstone River bridge project would remain funded, which Mayor Hsueh attributed to the proximity of Plainsboro’s major redevelopment project, the new Princeton HealthCare System facility.
”When we have our redevelopment plan done, they will reinstate both the Vaughn Drive Connector and Penns Neck,” Mayor Hsueh said.
