MANSFIELD: Turnpike hearing set for Thursday

By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
MANSFIELD — The New Jersey Turnpike Authority is expected to hold a public hearing on its upcoming expansion project today, Thursday, at 6 p.m.
    Representatives will speak and answer questions at the municipal complex at 24548 E. Main St. in the Columbus section of the township.
    The authority’s engineering department is expected to “go over the project in its entirety, especially the impact on Mansfield Township,” said Township Administrator Joe Broski.
    “I think it’ll be a good opportunity for residents to come out and hear firsthand what the plans are. And obviously the mayor and committee share this concern, and just the best interest of the expansion within the community.”
    Construction on the 25-mile, $2 million Turnpike widening from Interchange 6 to 9 is scheduled to start in late 2008, adding an additional six lanes from a point approximately two miles south of Interchange 6, in Mansfield, to the existing 10-lane roadway south of Interchange 8A.
    The Turnpike Authority has previously said traffic is expected to increase by 68 percent between now and 2032.
    Mr. Broski said some groups of township residents are concerned about the reconstruction of bridges within the township that cross the Turnpike. The project’s impact on those bridges is expected to last about 15 months, he continued, and vehicles will need to be detoured.
    But he said there has not been the uproar seen in many municipalities that are opposed to the project; Mansfield’s Township Committee has made no formal objection to the plans. Mr. Broski credited this to the fact that unlike other towns, notably Bordentown Township, the Turnpike Authority has made no indication that it will need to demolish any existing structures.
    “Also, the areas where the widening is going to take place, for the most part, is farm area and not going to create the type of problems other municipalities will experience,” he added.
    While the committee has not been told the exact amount of land the expansion will require, “a lot of what has been proposed is to expand the roadway into existing right-of-ways,” Mr. Broski said.
    The township’s engineering firm of record, Remington and Vernick, has been in ongoing discussions with the Turnpike Authority’s engineering department, he added.