By Frank Mustac, Special Writer
A traffic study group is meeting to discuss car and truck traffic on River Drive in historic Titusville village.
The group, which was formed by the Hopewell Township Committee, gathered at the Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad building on March 10, in part, to talk about whether parts of the River Drive near two damaged stone bridges should be reopened after repair work is completed.
The northern bridge was closed in March 2011 due to severe flooding, according to a July 2013 letter from Mercer County to Hopewell Township. The southern bridge was closed as a result of damage sustained by Hurricane Irene in August 2011. Both culvert bridges are owned and maintained by Mercer County.
“The county has indicated they are going to be replacing those structures — reconstructing those structures,” Paul Pogorzelski, the township’s administrator and engineer, told Township Committee members on Monday. Mr. Pogorzelski was delivering a report on the traffic study group meeting he attended.
The quiet village within Hopewell Township was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Delaware & Raritan Canal runs parallel to the river and Route 29, and is crossed by several two-lane bridges. A biking/walking trail follows the canal.
In the past, residents reported that before the two portions of River Drive were closed about five years ago, a relatively large number of motorists were driving through the neighborhood to avoid traffic on Route 29 during rush-hour commutes or traveling to and from downriver Washington Crossing State Park.
Traffic, it seems, has lessened since around the time of the bridge closures.
“We heard various input,” Mr. Pogorzelski said about the March 10 meeting, explaining that some individuals said they would like to close the roadway because there is “so much cut-through traffic.”
The traffic study group will also be paying attention to plans announced for the nearby Scudder Falls (I-95) bridge over the Delaware.
“The Scudder Falls bridge is going to be a toll bridge. Then the question is what is that going to do regarding the cut-through traffic (on River Road),” Mr. Pogorzelski said.
The Titusville traffic study group’s first-ever meeting was organizational in nature, Mr. Pogorzelski said.
“We set forth sort of a list of tasks that we would like to do,” he said. “We’re looking at all the stakeholders that are involved . . . to see if they have any input in this process.”
