Council Provides Update on Route 9 Traffic Fixes

Over the summer Mayor Bill Gotto and Deputy Mayor Rob Nicastro met with New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner James Simpson thanks in part to the work of longtime Sen. Robert Singer.

At Tuesday’s Council meeting Nicastro said residents should start seeing positive results from that meeting as the DOT continues work to alleviate traffic congestion on the Route 9 corridor. So far he said adjustments have been made to four intersections on the corridor including New Friendship, Aldrich, Salem Hill and Lanes Mill Roads. More changes are being tested at a facility in Wall and should be rolled out next week in the township.

Nicastro said he believed the results of the work done by the state will help to alleviate some of the issues that have become more prevalent over the years. “They see some positive changes with the timing optimization of Route 9,” he said. “They really think it’s going to be even more beneficial for the traffic over there.”

Part of the work on the corridor also includes striping work that will be done in the near future near New Friendship Road and landscaping done at the jughandles for Alexander, New Friendship and Strickland. Nicastro said that will include landscaping and signage after the DOT allocated $125,000 for the project. “It’s a pretty big deal that they’re doing here,” he said.

Nicastro said had the meeting over the summer not happened the changes being implemented were also unlikely to occur. “I think when we met with the commissioner we got his attention,” he said. “He committed to us and Senator Singer that he was going to stay on top of it.”