New Jersey

[jeffandnicole]

On NJ 73 between 295 and the NJ Turnpike is Fellowship Road, a notoriously busy intersection in Mt. Laurel. A public meeting was held last year to reconstruct a portion of 73 from approximately 295, thru Fellowship and the NJ Turnpike to Church Road, where an overpass is slated to put Church Rd over 73.

The aerial view is: https://goo.gl/maps/PcmFTJgB37u

In the meantime, a long-planned Walmart is being built between Beaver Ave  and Fellowship Rd along 73, next to the Red Roof Inn (See link above to visualize its location).

Driving by for the first time in a while Friday, I noticed that Rt. 73 South is getting widened in front of the Walmart.  And the reverse jughandle to Fellowship Rd. North is being rebuilt as well, which will align it alongside the NJ Turnpike ramp and bring it out to a business park street that intersects with Fellowship Rd (this will become one of NJ's infamously long jughandles).  These were some of the projects included in the larger project mentioned above, which wasn't due to start for at least 5 years. 

Even the current, proposed FY18 Transit Improvement Program documents show this intersection and those above improvements in the Preliminary Engineering phase, which in NJ is usually years before any actual construction is going to take place.  Taking a look around the NJDOT website and local news sites, I don't see anything referring to the construction that has obviously been going on for a few months now.

Maybe NJDOT and Mt. Laurel reached an agreement with the Walmart developer to partially or fully fund these improvements.  If they did, that's quite an accomplishment.  In NJ, it's tough for a developer to pay for a shoulder to be widened sometimes, much less any major traffic relief construction!

[Alps]

On NJ 73 between 295 and the NJ Turnpike is Fellowship Road, a notoriously busy intersection in Mt. Laurel. A public meeting was held last year to reconstruct a portion of 73 from approximately 295, thru Fellowship and the NJ Turnpike to Church Road, where an overpass is slated to put Church Rd over 73.

The aerial view is: https://goo.gl/maps/PcmFTJgB37u

In the meantime, a long-planned Walmart is being built between Beaver Ave  and Fellowship Rd along 73, next to the Red Roof Inn (See link above to visualize its location).

Driving by for the first time in a while Friday, I noticed that Rt. 73 South is getting widened in front of the Walmart.  And the reverse jughandle to Fellowship Rd. North is being rebuilt as well, which will align it alongside the NJ Turnpike ramp and bring it out to a business park street that intersects with Fellowship Rd (this will become one of NJ's infamously long jughandles).  These were some of the projects included in the larger project mentioned above, which wasn't due to start for at least 5 years. 

Even the current, proposed FY18 Transit Improvement Program documents show this intersection and those above improvements in the Preliminary Engineering phase, which in NJ is usually years before any actual construction is going to take place.  Taking a look around the NJDOT website and local news sites, I don't see anything referring to the construction that has obviously been going on for a few months now.

Maybe NJDOT and Mt. Laurel reached an agreement with the Walmart developer to partially or fully fund these improvements.  If they did, that's quite an accomplishment.  In NJ, it's tough for a developer to pay for a shoulder to be widened sometimes, much less any major traffic relief construction!

Yes, the improvements in question are related to the development.

[storm2k]

In today's Courier News:

State to finish Hillsborough bypass by 2020

The DOT has a $20 million budget to finish the bypass, which is named for former township Mayor Pete Biondi, who championed the work as a municipal official and a state assemblyman.

Much more important, though:

And, maybe just as important, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has set aside money to begin the the lengthy process of widening Route 206 to four lanes between Valley Road and Brown Avenue, where the four-lane stretch of highway south of the Raritan River currently ends.

That project will replace the railroad bridge over Route 206, the primary roadblock that has delayed the widening project. Also included are relocation of two traffic signals, with the addition of two new jughandles.

I really hope they see this through to the end. Having 206 be 4 lanes from the circle south to Montgomery, with the bypass in place, will be huge.

[jeffandnicole]

NJ is proposing a rule change to their Tourist Oriented Directional Signs Program (the Big Blue signs). The major change...apparently there was a long-standing but well overlooked rule that a facility listed on the signs had to have a public phone!  They are doing away with that requirement. 

If you have an opinion that you must share with them, you can comment until October.

Their site with links:  http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/rules/proposals.shtm

[Alps]

In today's Courier News:


State to finish Hillsborough bypass by 2020

The DOT has a $20 million budget to finish the bypass, which is named for former township Mayor Pete Biondi, who championed the work as a municipal official and a state assemblyman.

Much more important, though:

And, maybe just as important, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has set aside money to begin the the lengthy process of widening Route 206 to four lanes between Valley Road and Brown Avenue, where the four-lane stretch of highway south of the Raritan River currently ends.

That project will replace the railroad bridge over Route 206, the primary roadblock that has delayed the widening project. Also included are relocation of two traffic signals, with the addition of two new jughandles.

I really hope they see this through to the end. Having 206 be 4 lanes from the circle south to Montgomery, with the bypass in place, will be huge.

But the bypass ends south of Valley Road. What happens between those points? 

[storm2k]

In today's Courier News:


State to finish Hillsborough bypass by 2020

The DOT has a $20 million budget to finish the bypass, which is named for former township Mayor Pete Biondi, who championed the work as a municipal official and a state assemblyman.

Much more important, though:

And, maybe just as important, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has set aside money to begin the the lengthy process of widening Route 206 to four lanes between Valley Road and Brown Avenue, where the four-lane stretch of highway south of the Raritan River currently ends.

That project will replace the railroad bridge over Route 206, the primary roadblock that has delayed the widening project. Also included are relocation of two traffic signals, with the addition of two new jughandles.

I really hope they see this through to the end. Having 206 be 4 lanes from the circle south to Montgomery, with the bypass in place, will be huge.

But the bypass ends south of Valley Road. What happens between those points? 

You could realistically have them extend the 4 laning from Old Somerville up to Triangle. Between Triangle and Valley is problematic, which is why I guess they're only going as far as there. I think they'll require quite a bit of land taking to have enough room to expand.

[Alps]

I'm always a fan of doing what you can when you can, so I'm fine with widening to Valley for now, but this leave two short-sighted bottlenecks - Valley to the north end of the bypass, and the south end of the bypass to Great Road. Both of those sections need to be four-laned.

[Roadsguy]

The widening to Valley Rd looks short enough that it might just get done all in one go with the bypass. Do the plans say anything agreeing or disagreeing with this?

[Alps]

The widening to Valley Rd looks short enough that it might just get done all in one go with the bypass. Do the plans say anything agreeing or disagreeing with this?

If it says Valley, it's Valley.

[yakra]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

[Alps]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

It is future 206, so I don't think there is any reason to go AASHTO with it until it's completed and ready for full rerouting. The old route will be decommissioned, not turned into a Business route.

[jeffandnicole]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

I've never seen rerouted 322 approved by AASHTO either.  NJ doesn't care about little things like that! 

[ekt8750]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

I've never seen rerouted 322 approved by AASHTO either.  NJ doesn't care about little things like that! 

I remember when that parkway first opened, Gloucester County tried to sign it as CR 322 like they were trying to tell everyone who paid for it. 

[Alps]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

I've never seen rerouted 322 approved by AASHTO either.  NJ doesn't care about little things like that! 

I honestly wonder, AASHTO is supposed to approve every little thing but in the case of such a short reroute does it really matter? It's still entering the same town.

[jeffandnicole]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

I've never seen rerouted 322 approved by AASHTO either.  NJ doesn't care about little things like that! 

I remember when that parkway first opened, Gloucester County tried to sign it as CR 322 like they were trying to tell everyone who paid for it. 

That was the construction signage for when 'old' 322 was closed...for some reason they used county signage.  And NJDOT eventually did pay the county for the construction - NJDOT paid Gloucester County about $1.5 a year for 10 years to reimburse them for the roadway.  The construction project that resulted in those old signs being posted was a state project as well - rebuilding a dam behind the Old Mill area. 

There's 2 very, very old concrete bridge support in that area that I'll love to understand a little more history on - it had to be part of some old train bridge to the Old Mill I would imagine.  https://goo.gl/maps/E3az7MtCA582 & https://goo.gl/maps/MaptXGW83w52

I have seen the state refer to old 322 as Business 322, although no signage has ever been posted clarifying for motorists what that roadway's route number now is.

[dgolub]

I have seen the state refer to old 322 as Business 322, although no signage has ever been posted clarifying for motorists what that roadway's route number now is.

That's how it's officially designated in state documents, but the Business US 322 designation is unsigned.

[civilmaher]

There's 2 very, very old concrete bridge support in that area that I'll love to understand a little more history on - it had to be part of some old train bridge to the Old Mill I would imagine.  https://goo.gl/maps/E3az7MtCA582 & https://goo.gl/maps/MaptXGW83w52

The bridge carried the Mullica Hill branch of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Line.

http://www.old-mill-antique-mall.com/old-mill-history.html

[jeffandnicole]

There's 2 very, very old concrete bridge support in that area that I'll love to understand a little more history on - it had to be part of some old train bridge to the Old Mill I would imagine.  https://goo.gl/maps/E3az7MtCA582 & https://goo.gl/maps/MaptXGW83w52

The bridge carried the Mullica Hill branch of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Line.

http://www.old-mill-antique-mall.com/old-mill-history.html

Thank you for that!  I'll love to see pictures of that railroad that crossed the road that was formerly Rt. 322.

I remember the Old Mill having a pizzeria and video arcade.  I haven't been in there probably since I was in high school.

[storm2k]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

It is future 206, so I don't think there is any reason to go AASHTO with it until it's completed and ready for full rerouting. The old route will be decommissioned, not turned into a Business route.

They won't give it a 3di 1xx state route number as with other bypassed routes (166, 159, 173, etc)?

[Alps]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

It is future 206, so I don't think there is any reason to go AASHTO with it until it's completed and ready for full rerouting. The old route will be decommissioned, not turned into a Business route.

They won't give it a 3di 1xx state route number as with other bypassed routes (166, 159, 173, etc)?

That died awhile ago. 185 was the last, then came Business 33 and 133. But no, this is not going to be a state highway in the end. If they weren't able to download it, it would probably be Business 206.

[jeffandnicole]

Per NJDOT, the hard shoulder running experiment on US 1 is going well.  Per the press release, traffic is getting used to using the shoulder, average speeds are up and accidents are down.  They're going to expand the northern boundaries of US 1's southbound shoulder-use zone by about a 1/2 mile.

http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/press/2017/082517a.shtm

[_Simon]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

It is future 206, so I don't think there is any reason to go AASHTO with it until it's completed and ready for full rerouting. The old route will be decommissioned, not turned into a Business route.

They won't give it a 3di 1xx state route number as with other bypassed routes (166, 159, 173, etc)?

That died awhile ago. 185 was the last, then came Business 33 and 133. But no, this is not going to be a state highway in the end. If they weren't able to download it, it would probably be Business 206.

Do you mean 183 or 184?  185 doesn't bypass/isn't bypassed by anything lol. 

Nearby Tidbit:  when 206 bypassed Bridgewater/Somerville just north of Hillsborough, the old alignment over bridge street was assigned nj-177 for a short time.  You can see this designation in the topo maps on historic aerials.

SM-G955U

[Alps]

TMK this is NJ's only BYPASS bannered US route, and as yet it doesn't connect to the rest of the numbered system. (US/State system, that is; I'm not counting CR514.)
AFAICS it has not yet been approved by AASHTO.
Any ideas as to whether, once complete & open, it will stay US206Byp, or become part of US206 proper?

It is future 206, so I don't think there is any reason to go AASHTO with it until it's completed and ready for full rerouting. The old route will be decommissioned, not turned into a Business route.

They won't give it a 3di 1xx state route number as with other bypassed routes (166, 159, 173, etc)?

That died awhile ago. 185 was the last, then came Business 33 and 133. But no, this is not going to be a state highway in the end. If they weren't able to download it, it would probably be Business 206.

Do you mean 183 or 184?  185 doesn't bypass/isn't bypassed by anything lol. 

Nearby Tidbit:  when 206 bypassed Bridgewater/Somerville just north of Hillsborough, the old alignment over bridge street was assigned nj-177 for a short time.  You can see this designation in the topo maps on historic aerials.

SM-G955U

No lol. I'm referring to route numbering in general.

[_Simon]

Im not sure what you're saying... 185 was the last route number?  To what, be issued? 

SM-G955U

[Alps]

Im not sure what you're saying... 185 was the last route number?  To what, be issued? 

SM-G955U

In that sequence from 151-185.