By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
In its recently released proposed plan for fiscal year 2010, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority set aside more than $19 million to begin work on one stretch of road for the much-anticipated, and prolonged, Route 206 bypass that runs through Hillsborough.
According to David Behrend, public affairs manager for the NJTPA, this proposed capital program is being considered by the state Legislature as part of the upcoming state budget, which must be approved by the end of June.
The project itself, of which $19,363,000 has been allotted, is designed as a breakout of the Route 206 bypass, from Hillsborough Road to Amwell Road.
According to Somerset County Freeholder Peter Palmer, the bypass improvement project has been split into several different segments, all of which are being done at separate times. The northernmost piece, from the Somerville Circle to Brown Avenue, already has been completed, he said.
”The southern third from the Montgomery border to Hillsborough Road is moving forward,” he said. “The final third is divided in half, and from Hillsborough Road to Amwell Road is definitely moving forward. The other half is programmed for a later date.”
The most expensive piece, from Old Somerville Road to Brown Avenue, does not have the funding yet, Mr. Palmer said. Estimates of the cost to build the section made in 2005 put the pricetag at about about $43 million.
”But the whole bypass is being done in pieces,” he said. Other parts, he said, should begin in the next year or two.
The current funding, for the stretch from Hillsborough Road to Amwell Road, will pay for a roadway consisting of two 12-foot travel lanes, two 10-foot outside shoulders, two 3-foot inside shoulders, a 15-foot grass median and two 15-foot outside borders.
In addition, four new bridges will be constructed along the road with the bypass crossing over Homestead Road, the CSX Railroad and the Royce Brook. Amwell Road will cross over the Route 206 bypass.
In total, Mr. Palmer said, this piece of the project should take about two years to complete.
”Then it won’t really be useful by itself, but once the pieces are all done, it will be very useful,” he said. “You can miss the entire downtown Hillsborough (when driving on the bypass).”
Mr. Palmer said he does not expect the construction process to have any major impact on residents in town.
”It doesn’t have any impact to local roads because it doesn’t involve the existing roads,” he said. “There may only be some brief interruptions.”
“”“’”The NJTPA approved its four-year Transportation Improvement Program July 28, with $85 million appropriated to begin the Route 206 bypass. That money accounts for what will be done between 2009 and 2011 with another capital plan having to be approved after those years for the remaining $35 million.
The entire bypass is expected to be completed by fall 2013 and will run from Mountain View Road to Old Somerville Road in an effort to shift traffic away from the current Route 206 to turn the area into a pedestrian-friendly town center.

