By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — The first weekday morning rush hour with roads closed for construction near the Alexander Road bridge over the Northeast Corridor tested the patience of motorists on Monday.
Drivers experienced detours, congestion, and longer commute times because of work to connect the new Alexander Road bridge with the surrounding roadways. The state Department of Transportation has set a late 2008 completion date for the project.
Motorists who normally take Alexander Road over the railroad tracks to travel south are being directed a little farther north on Route 1 before taking Route 571 south. Those coming from the opposite direction are being instructed by detour signs to take Route 571 over the tracks in order to reach points north of the closures.
But those who found themselves on the roadways for longer-than-normal periods of time were not forced to go it alone. Township police were out in force on the roadways, according to Business Administrator Christopher Marion.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh requested that Police Chief Joseph Pica put more officers out on the streets Monday to deal with traffic, which had backed up significantly on Route 571 and Route 1 by mid-morning. Officers who saw the effects of the detours said that the going was indeed difficult, with the closures exacerbating an already hectic situation on the township’s roadways during peak traffic periods.
”Even when everything’s going well, rush hour in West Windsor is no picnic,” said Lt. Pat McCormick, who added that he had gone out for a drive to check out the backups and the work the township police were doing.
”Once you shut down a major thoroughfare you face major problems,” he said. “All we’re trying to do is prevent gridlock.”
Following Monday morning’s events, Mayor Hsueh, Chief Pica, and Mr. Marion held a meeting to review the effects of the closures and to “fine tune” the efforts of the township in addressing the back-ups on the detour route.
In review of the traffic flow, Mayor Hsueh said it was the hope of the township that the state would provide more signs, along with portable traffic signals, to deal with some of the problem intersections that saw heavy use by the detour traffic.
The intersection of Meadow Road and Clarksville Road was singled out as a location where traffic would be especially heavy, although it had been left out of the detour route as a thoroughfare over the railroad tracks.
Chief Pica said he expected that many West Windsor residents and others familiar with the area would use that intersection as a way around the Alexander road closures.
”We expected Clarksville and Meadow Road to get worse,” Chief Pica said.
But DOT spokesman Tim Greeley said state officials actually expected conditions to improve in the area of the closures, as motorists adjust to the detour routes over the course of the three-month period.
”Certainly with any new traffic pattern there will be an adjustment period, and we expect that as drivers familiarize themselves with the posted detour routes that traffic flow will improve throughout the area,” Mr. Greeley said.
Also, Mr. Greeley said that commuters should use the DOT’s official detour route. He said the route was decided after discussions among officials from the DOT, NJ Transit, and West Windsor Township.
The closures were originally to have gone into effect on June 27, but the DOT pushed the start date back by two weeks to allow for levels of elevated traffic associated with the July 4 weekend.
The adjusted end-date for the Alexander Road bridge closure is Oct. 9, 2008, according to Mr. Greeley.
