By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) will be hosting public information sessions to discuss the trial closing of jughandles on Route 1 in Princeton and West Windsor, now scheduled to begin in March and last eight weeks.
The sessions will be Jan. 24 at the West Windsor Municipal Complex and Jan. 25 at the Princeton Borough Hall from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on both days. NJDOT officials will make a presentation about the trial and take questions and comments from the public.
NJDOT proposes to temporarily restrict Route 1 northbound and southbound left and U-turns at Washington Road and restrict northbound Route 1 left and U-turns at Harrison Street.
Drivers will not be able to make a U-turn from Alexander Road until Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro.
Local officials are not happy with the idea and have been expressing opposition for more than a year.
”Princeton Township has been out in front of this proposal from the NJDOT and has significant concerns over the potential impact of closing down two of three Route 1 northbound turns to Princeton,” said Township Mayor Chad Goerner, who authored a resolution against the measure last year. “Faculty Road and Alexander Road cannot become the receiver roads bearing the brunt of traffic for the community.”
According to NJDOT officials, the agency is seeking to reduce congestion along the Route 1 northbound corridor in the vicinity of Washington Road and Harrison Street where the rightmost of three lanes becomes crowded with motorists queueing to make left turns, particularly during peak travel periods.
”It’s closing the jughandles, but there is still movement from Washington Road so you can cross the intersection, so cross Route 1 movements are preserved,” said Joseph Dee of NJDOT. “With volume on Route 1, the traffic backs up so much. The idea is that given the volumes, especially in peak periods, we end up loosing that third lane and people back up from the jughandles onto the third lane so you loose one third of your capacity in peak periods.”
Motorists stuck in that third lane do not move as effectively as those in the middle and left lanes when the jughandles and the right lane back up.
Harrison and Washington Roads were selected for the pilot program because of the congestion levels.
”We’re down to two lanes northbound,” said Mr. Dee. “In addition to the congestion a hospital will be opening in the spring (on the northbound side before Scudders Mill Road) and it’s important to get all the capacity the road offers to allow emergence vehicles to access the hospital as efficiently as possible.”
Dynamic message signs and static signage will notify motorists of the restrictions and alternate routes well in advance of the start of the pilot project. Temporary construction barrels and other measures will be used to implement the restrictions in an inexpensive manner. Should the trial prove successful, appropriate permanent changes will be designed and installed at the intersections. If the trial is unsuccessful, the temporary restrictions will be removed to restore all existing traffic movements.
Washington Road alternate suggestions include:
* Route 1 northbound motorists seeking to make a left onto Washington Road heading into Princeton can use the ramp to Alexander Road westbound.
* Route 1 northbound motorists seeking to make a U-turn can use the ramp to Alexander westbound and then take the ramp to Route 1 southbound.
* Route 1 southbound motorists seeking to turn left onto Washington Road or seeking to make a U-turn can use the ramp to Alexander Road eastbound and then proceed to Route 1 northbound.
Harrison Road alternates include:
* Motorists can proceed north along Route 1 to the Scudders Mill road interchange and take the U-turn ramp to Route 1 southbound and make a right turn at Harrison Street or continue south on Route 1.
The trial period is expected to begin in March 2012 and continue for approximately eight weeks, during which time the effectiveness of the trial and secondary impacts will be evaluated.
Traffic patterns at the Scudders Mill Road and Alexander Road will be closely examined for volume and if any issues arise, especially in Princeton and throughout the area.
”We will look to see if this was a success or it created problems that were not tolerable,” said Mr. Dee. “Let’s do this as a trial and if it works great, great, if it creates unforeseen problems we’ll revert the traffics patterns to the way they exist now.”
