PRINCETON: No issues so far on jughandles

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   Two Route 1 jughandles with access points to downtown Princeton were closed on Saturday and Sunday, and the Monday morning commute came and went with “no issues so far,” according to Princeton Township police.
   The closures are part of the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s plan to see if the changed traffic pattern eases congestion on the busy state highway. DOT has prevented motorists from making left or U-turns at Washington Road and Harrison Street for the next 12 weeks. On Friday, crews installed the barriers to prevent turns. The changes took effect Saturday.
   DOT has been monitoring the situation by camera and staff on site, said DOT spokesman Joe Dee on Monday. He said a few more electronic and regular signs with be posted along Route 1, but he felt things have gone “pretty well.”
   The DOT has said that if the 12-week test is successful, the traffic pattern changes will become permanent.The DOT plan has given rise to fears of increased traffic and longer commutes for motorists trying to get to work.
   The Princeton Merchants Association, a 65-member business group, has said it will be monitoring travel times of its members’ employees to see if there would be a difference.
   ”So far, so good,” said association president Carly Meyer in an email Monday.
   The township has its eye on what the traffic impact will be when Quaker Road closes Aug. 20 for the next six months so that the county can replace a bridge, located between Province Line Road in Lawrence and Mercer/Princeton Pike in the township, over Stony Brook.
   The county said local traffic would be allowed up to the “limits of the bridge” while the $2.2 million project is going on.
   ”Through traffic will be directed to use Province Line Road and Princeton Pike,” County Executive Brian M. Hughes’ office said in a news release last week.
   The office said the World War II-era bridge has been deemed structurally deficient, with a “sufficiency rating” of 42 out of 100. Built in 1942, the bridge will be demolished and replaced with a 77-foot 5-inch- bridge.