EAST WINDSOR: Council gives early OK to intersection project

By Judy Bocklage, Special Writer
   EAST WINDSOR — Motorists who face daily delays at the awkward intersection where Hankins and Conover roads meet Route 130 may get some relief in about nine months unless the wetlands on the project site and the threatened and endangered species that may live there stand in the way.
   The Township Council gave the green light Tuesday to a plan that would redo the intersection where eastbound Hankins Road and westbound Conover Road meet Route 130. The estimated project cost is $1.5 million.
   Mayor Janice Mironov stressed that no taxpayer money is earmarked for the project. She said Thursday that the township expects to be awarded a state grant.
   ”All of the professional fees to date have been paid for from developers monies deposited in the township Transportation Improvement Program account,” she added. We anticipate that constructions costs would be paid for primarily from developer funds in the TIP account, along with an NJDOT grant and contributions from developers in the immediate project area in Robbinsville.”
   The present configuration results in backed-up traffic and accidents at the intersection, according to project manager John Kovar, of the Louis Berger Group Inc., of Morristown, which won the township contract to design a solution. Mr. Kovar’s main task was to develop a plan that would reduce delays, improve safety, identify what approvals and permits would be necessary, establish a project schedule and estimate construction costs.
   His analysis, presented to the council Tuesday, included a study of the number of accidents at the site over a three-year period. It found that from 2005 to 2007, there were 24 crashes where eastbound Hankins Road runs into Route 130 and 18 accidents at Conover Road’s westbound intersection with Route 130.
   Mr. Kovar also determined that delays for motorists, which are caused by traffic backups, especially on Conover, are only going to get worse in the future if nothing is changed.
   By 2028, there will be so much delay, “You’re never going to get through,” he said.
   Though not all the engineering work has been done, the plan presented Tuesday is to remove the existing roadway on the Conover Road approach to Route 130 and realign Conover Road as a curved roadway so it lines up with Hankins Road on the other side of Route 130. Conover and Hankins roads don’t meet at the same point on Route 130.
   There are details still to be worked out, such as deciding whether to reduce the 45-mph speed limit on Conover to 30 — Mr. Kovar said 45 mph is too fast for the curve he designed — as well as modifying traffic signals and adding traffic lanes.
   [vmo: easily cut for space : ]”This is a project the council has been interested in for some time,” Mayor Mironov said.
   The mayor and council members indicated they see no problems with the engineering design Mr. Kovar recommended, and they expect no objections from neighboring Robbinsville. Hankins Road lies on the border of East Windsor and Robbinsville, and because of that, Mayor Mironov said she has been in discussions with members of Robbinsville’s council about the project. She and Mr. Kovar both said Robbinsville council members have indicated their support.
   That leaves the wetlands, on the Conover Road side of Route 130, as the biggest impediment to the project, Mayor Mironov said. Mr. Kovar’s report listed the wetlands, on the southeast corner of the site, as well as the threatened and endangered species in the area as top “project constraints.” The more impact the project has on the wetlands, the more problem it will have getting approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection, he told the council members.
   The report states spotted turtles, eastern box turtles and fowler’s toads “are known to occur within the vicinity of the project area” although none were observed during a field investigation.
   After Mr. Kovar’s presentation Tuesday, Mayor Mironov asked her fellow council members for a decision. The governing body approved a motion by Councilman Alan Rosenberg to endorse the preliminary plan and to authorize the project to move forward.
   It will be a big part of Mr. Kovar’s job to take a plan that addresses the wetlands issue to the DEP and get the necessary permits. He also will have to submit applications to the state Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over Route 130.
   Mr. Kovar estimated that the project design could be completed in nine months. The mayor said Thursday it is too early for a timetable for construction to begin and end.