In response to Mr. Jacoby’s Feb. 28 letter, "Overpass Expansion Resembles Hol-land Tunnel," I would like to share some insight into the New Jersey Department of Transporta-tion’s (NJDOT) decision to build an underpass instead of an overpass across Route 71/Cedar Avenue.
As a concerned neighbor and a member of the community, Monmouth University has a vested interest in the successful conclusion of the project, as the local residents of the surrounding towns do.
However, the NJDOT, in cooperation with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), had the final say in the design of the crossing because of the state highway status of Cedar Avenue.
It is important to note that the NJDOT and SHPO held two public forums in order to gain local citizens’ input and to answer questions during critical phases of the design process.
Monmouth University wanted this construction to be as nonintrusive as possible while meeting our priority of providing a safe passageway for our crossing guards and the resident students who cross the busy state highway several times a day.
As the public may recall, three guards have been injured and a West Long Branch resident was struck and killed at the crossing in recent years.
A second issue that was a priority for our local council members revolved around the "stop and go" traffic as a result of the pedestrian crosswalk, and the need to ease daily traffic congestion due to more than 12,000 vehicles traveling the state highway.
During its deliberations, the NJDOT needed to include the SHPO because of the historic significance of Wilson Hall and Shadow Lawn. The NJDOT quickly decided that curb cuts with an island would not be an appropriate option. They considered both an overpass and underpass.
Because of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, an overpass would require elevators in addition to stairs. Under SHPO guidelines, the impact of the stairs onto Shadow Lawn was too great and would have compromised the beauty and integrity of it and Wilson Hall.
To complicate matters further, the height of an overpass (or lack thereof) would have forced heavy truck traffic to travel on residential streets. It was for these reasons that they decided against building an overpass.
I know we can agree that the construction of this project is an eyesore for all of us who travel Cedar Avenue to the campus or to other nearby locations on a regular basis.
When the project is completed in early summer, it will be virtually invisible to those driving on Cedar Avenue and I am confident that the ease of traffic congestion and the safety it will provide for foot traffic will be well-received by all who live and travel near the campus.
In closing, I want to thank Mr. Jacoby for his kind words regarding his admiration for Monmouth University’s growth and contributions to the community.
We appreciate the patience that he, the local residents and the university community has exhibited during construction of this complex project.
Susan Doctorian
Associate Vice President for Public Affairs
Monmouth University