Public Information Center Set for Thursday on Route 9 and Lacey Road Intersection

A Public Information Center will be held by the New Jersey Department of Transportation on the reconfiguration of Route 9 and Lacey Road from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Municipal Building.

“The PIC is an opportunity for interested residents to view the project design and schedule, interact with project staff and submit comments and concerns,” DOT spokesman Timothy Greeley said in an email.

Greeley previously said. The project that will reconfigure the intersection was awarded on Thursday, June 28 to Earle Asphalt Company in Wall for $3,938,713.13. The funds were budgeted for in the state’s Fiscal Year 2012 Capital Program.

The  would reconfigure the intersection as follows:

• The Route 9 northbound approach would feature a left-turn lane, through lane, and one shared through/right turn lane.
• The Route 9 southbound approach would feature two through lanes and an exclusive right-turn lane. The Route 9 southbound left turn would still be accomplished utilizing the existing movement made via Oak Street and Parker Avenue. A left turn from Route 9 southbound to Jones Road will be provided.
• Lacey Road eastbound approach would feature a double left-turn lane, a through lane and a right-turn lane.
• Lacey Road westbound would feature a left turn lane and a shared through/right lane.
• The drainage system will be improved with additional inlets to eliminate ponding and sidewalks will be provided throughout the project limits.

The Public Information Center will give residents an opportunity to review exhibits of the proposed project, ask questions and discuss concerns with DOT representatives, a notice from the county says.

Residents are encouraged to actively participate by providing comments at the meeting, by mail or email, the notice says.

The intersection was pinpointed by the DOT as a troubled one, the notice says. The DOT developed the Route 9 Corridor Assessment Study to identify operational problems and to make recommendations to improve the intersection.

“The Route 9 and Lacey Road intersection currently operates at over capacity conditions,” the notice says. “Traffic traveling southbound along Route 9 experiences significant delays.”

At a recent Lacey Township Committee meeting, resident Tim O’Connor questioned what the plans were to relieve additional traffic as construction is underway.

“They do not plan on offering detour routes and they plan on alternating lanes of traffic,” Township Administrator and Municipal Clerk Veronica Laureigh said. “And the state police will be called in to direct traffic and reroute it if they need to.”

The reconstruction of the intersection will begin this fall with substantial completion in the spring of 2014, the notice says.

For more information or to submit comments, contact DOT Regional Manager of the DOT’s Office of Community Relations at PO Box 600, Trenton, NJ 08625. Emails can be sent to Denise.Peck@dot.state.nj.us or call 609-530-2110.