Washington Twp. Mayor Comments On Dangerous Intersection Concerns

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Washington Township officials have commented on the upcoming traffic pattern change coming to a problematic intersection.

Mayor Matt Murello released a statement addressing a four-way stop that’s coming to the intersection of Naughright Road and Flocktown Road.

See Related: Dangerous Long Valley Intersection To Get New Traffic Pattern

The new traffic pattern comes after Washington Township officials deemed the intersection dangerous, following a traffic study consisting of data from the last five years.

“At our 12 February 2025 Committee meeting, the Police and Twp. Engineer presented the results of a five-year study where they identified a total of 39 crashes and 20 injuries at this intersection,” Murello said in a social media post. “The engineer proposed either a four-way stop or traffic light at the intersection due to the frequency of the crashes and the number of injuries, but at this time, they recommended a four-way stop with advanced warning signs. 95 percent of the crashes here are due to cars going through Flocktown Road without completely stopping, and the majority occur during daylight hours.”

The township did consider a traffic light; however, a light can cost anywhere between $150,000-$300,000 and can take more than a year to approve, purchase, and install, according to the mayor.

Instead, the township decided to use stop signs to create a four-way stop, a project that requires no state approval and only costs hundreds of dollars, Murello said.

“The four-way stop is a much lower cost to the taxpayer and is expected to reduce the major accidents at this intersection, based upon the five years of statistics of previous accidents,” the mayor said. “If the additional stop signs do not show any improvement in reducing the number of people that don’t seem to want to come to a complete stop before rolling into these intersections, we can consider a light.”

Murello also said that the township was planning to add additional stops at Parker Road and Old Farmers Road, and conduct additional traffic studies at Old Farmers Road and E Valley Brook, as well as Schooley's Mountain Road and Newberg Road.