Rt. 206, Furnace Road Light Approved By Chester Council

CHESTER, NJ — The Chester Township Council voted unanimously to approve a traffic light at the intersection of Route 206 and Furnace Road.

The council voted on Tuesday to accept the New Jersey Department of Transportation's recommendation that a light be installed. The state recommendation came after years of pleading by local officials, culminating in state Assembly members asking the NJ DOT for help following a double fatal crash last November.

"We look forward to working with the New Jersey Department of Transportation on this and other modifications to that intersection," Councilman Mike Inganamort said.

The township will be responsible for a quarter of electrical instillation costs, Mayor Marcia Asdal said. Now that Chester has approved the NJ DOT's request, NJ DOT "will begin design of a potential left turn lane and lighting upgrades and reevaluation of the posted speed limit in this area," Asdal said.

It's not clear exactly how much the new light will cost the town; an early estimate puts the cost around $200,000, Observer-Tribune reported.

The intersection of the two busy roads is currently regulated only by a stop sign, and has no light, turn lane, or jug handle. Residents have been calling for a traffic light for years, but those calls earned new vigor in November 2018 when a grandmother and her 5-year-old granddaughter were killed in a crash.

• 5-Year-Old, Grandmother Killed In Chester Crash Thursday: Police
• 5-Year-Old Laid To Rest With 'Best Friend' Grandma After Crash