Lawrence Township officials – concerned about the traffic impact of a planned warehouse distribution center on Quakerbridge Road that was approved in June – met with Mercer County officials to talk about traffic issues.
However, no firm commitments were made from the meeting on July 27.
“Mercer County has not taken a formal position on the 5.5-million-square-foot warehouse distribution center because developer Bridgepoint WW LLC’s application is pending before the Mercer County Planning Board,” said County spokesman Michael Boonin.
A date for a public hearing has not been set.
Municipal Manager Kevin Nerwinski and Municipal Engineer James Parvesse met with County Executive Brian Hughes and his staff to discuss proposed changes to adjacent county roads in connection with the planned warehouse distribution center.
The West Windsor Township Planning Board approved Bridgepoint WW LLC’s application for seven warehouses on Quakerbridge Road on the West Windsor/Lawrence border June 29. The site is opposite the Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrence.
The 539-acre parcel is bordered by Route 1, Quakerbridge Road and the Northeast Corridor railroad tracks. Its frontage on Quakerbridge Road spans both sides of Clarksville Road.
The West Windsor Township Planning Board imposed several conditions on developer Bridgepoint WW LLC. Some of those conditions would affect Clarksville Road, which is under the county’s control.
One of the conditions would ban tractor trailer trucks from turning onto Clarksville Road from a new road that would be built through the warehouse distribution center. The new road would start at Quakerbridge Road, opposite Avalon Way in Lawrence, and cross Clarksville Road. It would stop short of Route 1.
The new road would be designed to prevent trucks from turning onto Clarksville Road from the warehouse distribution center to reach the Princeton-Hightstown Road/Route 571 – pending county approval, according to a condition imposed by the West Windsor Township Planning Board.
Driveway entrances and exits would not be permitted on Clarksville Road at the warehouse distribution center, according to the West Windsor Township Planning Board.
Nerwinski wrote a letter to county officials requesting the meeting on July 13.
In the letter, he said “based on his understanding of conversations between Lawrence Township and Mercer County representatives, Mercer County might not support the truck restrictions on Clarksville Road.
“Lawrence officials are concerned about truck restrictions through West Windsor, as this traffic pattern will potentially increase traffic on Quakerbridge Road and Grover’s Mill Road (in Lawrence).
“Those concerns will be further exacerbated if the New Jersey Department of Transportation restricts access from Route 1 (via the new road through the warehouse distribution center), as they have currently indicated in their initial review of the project.
“If the new road does not connect with Route 1, truck traffic would be forced onto Grover’s Mill Road, Renaissance Boulevard and the Quaker Bridge Mall outer ring road. Renaissance Boulevard and the ring road are private roads.
“Grover’s Mill Road is not suitable for truck traffic because it does not have direct access to Route 1, without using Renaissance Boulevard and the Quaker Bridge Mall outer ring road in Lawrence Township,” Nerwinski wrote in the letter
At the July 27 meeting with county officials, Nerwinski said he expressed the township’s concerns about the negative impact that the development would have on the township.
“Mercer County officials were receptive and pledged the county’s continued cooperation with Lawrence Township to advocate for our interests and on behalf of our residents,” he said.
Nerwinski said they will meet again as the application makes its way through the Mercer County Planning Board process.