Forsgate Drive intersection to be improved

BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer

MONROE — Dedicated turning lanes and other roadway improvements are in store for the intersection of Applegarth Road and Forsgate Drive.

At the Feb. 2 council meeting, a resolution authorizing a professional services contract with Feist Engineering, Inc., was approved for services related to the signalization of Applegarth Road, Forsgate Drive and Links Drive design, as well as land acquisition, contract administration, inspection and an as-built survey.

Township Engineer Ernest Feist said the current signals at the intersection will be upgraded or replaced. Some drainage work will also be done. While the construction estimates for all of the work has not been fully prepared, Feist said he believed the cost would be between $700,000 and $1 million.

The project will go out to bid in the fall, and work on the intersection should begin in the spring of 2010, according to Feist.

Township Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton said that the primary difficulty at the intersection is the lack of a left-hand turn lane, and it is a safety issue. The traffic signal poles have also been knocked down on occasion, he said.

“The intersection needs widening for adequate stacking in the turning lanes,” Hamilton said. The primary backup occurs during rush hours, he noted.