Parkway Projects, Route 55 Discussed at Transportation Confab

CREST HAVEN – As earth-moving equipment rumbled outside the County Administration Building on Moore Road March 14 as the Ninth Annual Transportation Conference was being held, attendees learned of a reconfiguration at Exit 0 at the parkway’s southern terminus.
Although not a part of the project that will eliminate traffic signals at Exits 9, 10 and 11 in Middle Township, John Withers, supervising engineer, N.J. Turnpike Authority, told of plans to reconfigure the southern terminus of the highway in Lower Township.
He noted that the area was “problematic,” since there have been many accidents where the parkway and Route 109 merge. “There are environmental concerns, as there always are,” he said, but noted those do not seem difficult to surmount.
Design of the reconfiguration should be ready in two to three months, Withers said. It will be “a quick design, all at grade. Depending on permit approval, we should be able to award the contract sometime next year.”
That project will commence after the summer season, and take from nine months to a year to complete, Withers said, adding, and “Weather permitting.”
“Could that change? Absolutely,” he said, and noted that the project would need Federal Highway Administration approval which, “could be an issue, but we are optimistic with the path blazed by the exists 9, 10 and 11 project, that went a long way.”
As part of that project, Withers said there will be a new way to get from Route 109 to Ocean Drive, and there will also be a simplified left-hand turn that should improve traffic flow.
Withers also briefed attendees on the project to replace the aging southbound parkway bridge over Great Egg Harbor and Drag Island. The present 32-foot-wide span will eventually be replaced by one 70-feet wide and will carry north and southbound traffic.
After the larger bridge is built, both north and southbound traffic will use the one bridge. The demolition of the southbound bridge is tentatively set for early 2016, he said.
He stated that all approvals needed, except one issued by the Coast Guard, are in hand to move the project forward.
The Beesley’s Point Bridge will be demolished, and some of the land on which it is located will return to wetlands, and be used by the state Department of Transportation as a wetlands mitigation site. That means a saving of time and funds on future project.
The question of Route 55 completion as an evacuation route was raised by Art Hall, Herald publisher, to Richard Hammer, assistant commissioner, N.J. Department of Transportation.
He answered that Route 55 has been long discussed, but added, “Not at this point. As an agency we are not investing in new roads.” “We really have to look hard at those types of investments before we start dropping dollars in a new road.” Hammer said the department is attempting to put in good repair the present highways.
“When you leave New Jersey, we see vastly better roads than these that have not been improved in six decades. Where are they getting their money?” Hall asked Hammer.
“New Jersey has one of the older infrastructures that date back to before those in the Midwest and other places. Our weather plays apart, too,” said Hammer. Snow and the “agents” used to dispel it act upon the state’s roads, Hammer added. He also cited the state’s dense population which means “much higher traffic volumes than in a lot of neighboring states. We have a lot of hurdles to overcome,” Hammer said.
Freeholder Will Morey, who chaired the session, added his concern that, in event of hurricanes, such as Irene, when most of the county evacuated west, Route 55 would play an important role.
“Has that come up in consideration whether Route 55 should be addressed?” Morey asked.
Hammer acknowledged “safe evacuation is on everyone’s mind,” but that the department is “building redundancy” into structures such as the Great Egg Harbor Bridge on the parkway or Route 52 causeway from Ocean City.
“Right now, I can’t speak of Route 55,” Hammer said, and cited the investments in roads totaling $800 million to $900 million to make Cape May County the best it can possibly be.”
“The investment has been staggering,” added Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st). He said the “environmental issue (of Route 55) is a huge challenge.” Even offering legislation to fund preliminary designs on Route 55 “do not get a lot of support,” the senator added.
That environmental chastisement comes not only from regional but from national and international environmental groups, Van Drew said. “They consider these unique wetlands anywhere in the world.”
Van Drew said he believes an elevated highway could be built, but conceded, “Environmental opposition really truly blocked the project.”
The notion of charging a toll on the road, if it were ever built, was also discounted by Hammer, who said it would likely cost more than motorists would be willing to pay.
Samuel Donelson, acting executive director, South Jersey Transportation Authority, told of plans to upgrade the access to Atlantic City International Airport, directly from Atlantic City Expressway.
He also said SJTA is taking action against toll scofflaws in New Jersey by acting in concert with the Motor Vehicle Commission to suspend registration of “egregious toll violators” some of whom owe over $200 in tolls. Those outside the state will be sought by the SJTA in civil court, Donelson noted.
There is a future plan, he said, to have the entire road cashless paying tolls either by E-Z Pass or by photographing a license plate and billing the vehicle owner for the toll.