S.B. plans continued press for Rt. 1 widening
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Township officials are on the move to secure an extra lane for Route 1, restating their vehement opposition to rumblings from within the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to abandon the project.

According to Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz, there is movement within South Brunswick to, first, keep the DOT from putting the Route 1 widening project on the chopping block, and, second, to finally begin construction. The township is currently trying to wrangle a meeting with DOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri to discuss the matter further. In the meantime, Mayor Frank Gambatese and Township Manager Matthew Watkins will be meeting with DOT engineers to go over problem intersections to reduce traffic flow.

Councilman Joe Camarota said he will be meeting with Congressman Rush Holt, who had written to Kolluri inquiring about the status of the Route 1 widening. Camarota, during a May 8 Township Council meeting, said that the swift response from South Brunswick might give them just the energy they need to finally get the project done.

"If anything, we can use this as an impetus to get things moving. ... We're going to turn this around and make it a positive," Camarota said.

Assemblyman Bill Baroni (R-Middlesex/Mercer) supports South Brunswick getting an extra lane on Route 1 and is urging Kolluri to reconsider.

"The safety, the quality of life and the commercial well-being of South Brunswick and the state as a whole requires that this situation be addressed now, rather than later," Baroni said.

Adding an extra lane to Route 1 has long been an ambition of the current administration, with the township having aggressively pushed for action on the matter with both the state and federal government in the past. During a recent Industry and Commerce Commission luncheon, however, South Brunswick received hints that widening work along sections of the entire highway may be off the table.

During that event, DOT Director of Project Planning and Development Gary Toth said that it was unrealistic to expect the roadway to be expanded because of a lack of funding. His words were echoed in a letter from Kolluri to Holt, adding that the project would not have been sustainable anyway because increased traffic capacity will bring increased development, and therefore more traffic.

This drew sharp response from irate township officials who have vowed to fight the cancellation of the project tooth and nail.

"The town is very, very opposed [to Route 1 not being widened] and I think the DOT got that message loud and clear," said Gambatese.