PRINCETON AREA: Road closure causing traffic headaches

By Allison Musante, Staff Writer
   Gridlock in and out Princeton is what drivers might find themselves experiencing for the next four weeks as a result of reconstruction work on Alexander Road in West Windsor.
   On Wednesday, Lucas Construction Group began a four-week full closure of Alexander Road between Canal Pointe Boulevard and Canal Road to perform deep utility work and full road bed reconstruction for repairing sewer lines and adding sidewalks.
   The closure has been forcing Princeton’s traffic to detour using Route 1, Washington Road and Faculty Road. With Alexander Road as a main artery in and out of Princeton, the detour has been causing heavier volume on nearly all of roads leading into Princeton via Route 1 North, said West Windsor traffic safety officer Sgt. Tom Tarr.
   ”The backup starts at Route 1 — the epicenter of crossing from West Windsor into Princeton — and impacts all the roads outward,” said Sgt. Tarr.
   Congestion has been the worst during the morning and evening rush hours, but anyone traveling on the Route 1 corridor should add at least 10 minutes to their travel time, he said. Some of West Windsor’s harder hit areas include Harrison Street, Province Line Road and Quakerbridge Road, he said.
   ”Quakerbridge was backed up more than usual,” he said. “It’s backing up because Harrison and Washington roads are getting backed up. It’s a trickle down effect.”
   Traffic was especially heavy on Route 571 – West Windsor’s main street — leading to Route 1 on Wednesday, he said.
   ”It was more than a half-mile deeper in traffic than usual,” he said.
   Traffic on a typical day on Washington Road is backed up to Fairview Road, a distance of about a half-mile. Around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, traffic had backed up as far as High School South on Clarksville Road, about a two-mile distance.
   ”When you get off the highway and you’re trying to get into Princeton, you’re dealing with mostly single lane roads. Some intersections have traffic lights and some don’t. It’s just the nature of the area that there aren’t many ways of getting in,” he said.
   Even at off-peak hours, traffic leaving Princeton had significant delays. Around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, traffic heading to Route 1 via Harrison Street was backed up to the bridge over the Delaware and Raritan Canal – nearly half a mile.
   Unfortunately, Sgt. Tarr said, drivers are relatively powerless to avoid the congestion. Even if West Windsor or Princeton townships adjusted traffic lights to push more volume through, it would negatively impact other routes, he said. He recommended seeking alternate routes to circumvent Princeton traffic altogether, even if it means traveling a longer distance.
   ”I guess I would call it a necessary evil,” he said. “It will be inconvenient for a few weeks, but it’s for the greater good. These infrastructure improvements have to be made.”
   Capt. Nick Sutter of Princeton Borough and Sgt. Thomas Murray of Princeton Township confirmed that traffic congestion has been caused by the Alexander Road closure, but neither police department has been involved in the situation.
   ”This project is being handled by West Windsor,” said Sgt. Murray. “Princeton Township has only been involved in permitting the detour route from Faculty to Washington roads.”
   After June 29, the road will reopen with partial lane closures from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. until the end of the project.