NJ-18 Extension website and plans

[NJRoadfan]

Its buried on NJDOT's site, but here it is. Its mostly an upgrade of Hoes Ln., Centennial Ave. and the Possumtown Rd. interchange on I-287. Honestly its a cheap half-assed connection and the original connection to US-22 is still badly needed. Piscataway is very hard to approach from the north, the best connections being congested county roads such as CR-529.

http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/works/studies/rt18_i287connect/

[Roadgeek Adam]

Yep. Not going to reach 22, as you'd have to eminent domain an awful lot (and its not just houses)

Park Avenue's traffic light is going (something I don't like)

Several small lights are going or being upgraded

18 will do the literal fork: 18 N will come into Possumtown Road while 18 S will come into via Centennial, due to interchange design

[Alps]

Yep. Not going to reach 22, as you'd have to eminent domain an awful lot (and its not just houses)

Park Avenue's traffic light is going (something I don't like)

Several small lights are going or being upgraded

18 will do the literal fork: 18 N will come into Possumtown Road while 18 S will come into via Centennial, due to interchange design

It looked like the Possumtown Road 18 was a typo, and 18 officially will follow Centennial.  I'm not happy with a few things:
1) Traffic signals.  At all.
2) Lack of jughandles.  You're cutting off properties as important as Johnson and Johnson and the only way to get there will be to try to U-turn from a left turn bay.  Well, what about trucks?
3) That left turn onto Centennial.  There HAS to be a way to keep 18 the through road.  This is absolutely half-assed.
4) Minimal upgrades to 287/18.  This should be/I thought was supposed to be a freeway-grade directional connection.

All in all, it seems like NJDOT is trying to do the absolute minimum to make this a state highway instead of following through on the concept.  I'd rather they apply the money elsewhere and wait until they can scrape together enough to do this project the right way.  Really, though, it's not like River Rd. is that badly congested in existing conditions (or the existing roads that 18 will follow).  So I'd REALLY rather see this money go somewhere else to a more needy project.

[Stephane Dumas]

I wonder if building it as a "jersey freeway" would had been a good compromise?

[Roadgeek Adam]

I wonder if building it as a "jersey freeway" would had been a good compromise?

At this point, there isn't a chance of any real freeway. Maybe the southern end, but not the northern.

[akotchi]

Nice to see an upgrade of any kind proposed through there -- the couple of times I have been through there I have not been impressed.  I recall that the signals are not that visible, left turns are tough and the pavement is bumpy.

I agree that 18 should be the through movement at the turn onto Centennial.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Nice to see an upgrade of any kind proposed through there -- the couple of times I have been through there I have not been impressed.  I recall that the signals are not that visible, left turns are tough and the pavement is bumpy.

I agree that 18 should be the through movement at the turn onto Centennial.

Bumpy? There's pavement everywhere with holes and cracks. I've biked on them, and it hurts

[froggie]

3) That left turn onto Centennial.  There HAS to be a way to keep 18 the through road.  This is absolutely half-assed.

I don't see this being possible given that the layout notes 2 quadrants of that intersection being parkland.  So trying to keep 18 as the through route would likely involve Section 4(f) impacts.


Feasible?  Perhaps...if you bought extra right-of-way and did a land swap with the park.  Possible?  Doubtful given the political and local climate...

[Scott5114]

Wouldn't that, in essence, put of all the park on the same side of the highway, though? With a skilled enough PR master, you could spin it as "We're removing Highway 18 from the park, making it easier to enjoy the park like never before."

[Alps]

Not like anyone uses the park.  Yes, you would have to remediate in kind or double or what have you, but there's plenty of cheap, unused land in Piscataway for that.