Hopewell officials oppose construction of Route 92
By Aleen Crispino, Special Writer
Hopewell Valley News, 11/09/2006
Want further study on impact Route 92 would have on towns west of
Route 1
Hopewell Borough Council voted 4-1
Monday to adopt a resolution opposing the construction of Route 92 and
rejecting the findings of the final Route 92 Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Borough Council President David
Knights cast the lone dissenting vote and Councilman Mark Samse
abstained.
"I am strongly in favor of the passage
of this resolution," Mayor David Nettles told council before the
vote. "The studies that have been
done in no way take into account the traffic west of Route 1."
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority plans to construct a 6.7-mile,
east-west, limited-access highway, connecting U.S. Route 1 at Ridge
Road in South Brunswick Township with U.S. Route 130 and the New Jersey
Turnpike at Exit 8A.
The resolution says the Borough of
Hopewell "does hereby urge the United States Army Corps of Engineers to
suspend action on all permitting requests relating to the Route 92
project until alternatives, such as the widening of US Route 1, be
fully examined and analyzed."
Hopewell, Montgomery and East Amwell
townships, which, like Hopewell Borough, lie west of U.S. Route 1, all
oppose the Route 92 project, said Mayor Nettles.
"I totally disagree," said Councilman Knights. "Even South Brunswick is
softening its stance.
"I don't believe it will have any impact on Hopewell Borough," said
Councilman Knights. "If you look at the map, the only east-west
connection is I-195, until you go up to Route 18," and the proposed
Route 92 will relieve traffic on all the roads in between, said
Councilman Knights.
Councilmen Paul Anzano and David
Mackie supported the resolution based
on what they said was the need for further study on the impact Route 92
would have on towns west of Route 1.
The construction of Route 92 would involve filling in 12.03 acres of
wetlands and open water and compensating for that by establishing 56
acres of wetlands and 0.85 acres of open water north and south of the
proposed Route 92 alignment east of Haypress Road in South Brunswick
Township, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Web site.
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