How many cars and trucks can you load into South Secaucus before something bursts?
That’s the question County Engineer Bob Jasek has been asking for over a year as more and more reports of development reach his desk, each new addition making him wonder how far everything can go before the streets leading to the area get bogged down.
“We’ve been told every time a new project comes in that it won’t have an impact on traffic,” Jasek said. “But we know this can’t be true.”
South Secaucus, Jasek said, has been experiencing steady development for the past two decades without a major transportation problem. Yet according to Jasek, over the last several years, the situation has worsened, and with several extremely large projects slated for the area, it was time to look at the area to make certain the roads there can handle the expected traffic.
In awarding an $80,000 traffic study contract to the engineering firm Schoor DePalma of Manalapan on March 8, the Hudson County Freeholders hoped to give Jasek the information he needs to plan for road improvements that might held reduce potential gridlock.
Jasek said the study is expected to be done by mid-summer.
Mayor Dennis Elwell said the study came as a result of a conversation last year he had with Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski over problems in the area.
“We were concerned over some of the problems that might be facing that part of town,” Elwell said, “and to Bob Janiszewski’s credit, he has done something about it.”
The expansion of Croxton rail yards, the construction of Allied Junction rail transfer station, the impending ground-breaking on the new Expo Center, and the planned construction of a New Jersey Turnpike interchange will all create major demands on the roadways in the area, Jasek said.
Allied Junction is slated to open in 2002.
“A lot of things are going into the part of the county and everyone is telling us there won’t be an impact,” Jasek said. “This will tell us what we can expect. We suspect there will be some impact.”
Changes
The transfer station, which has been under construction since 1997, will connect various rail lines through Northern Jersey and allow passengers to transfer to Amtrak Trains headed into central Manhattan. One of the key parts of the project was that the exit from the Turnpike that would allow buses from southern New Jersey to drop off passengers at the station. State and county officials expect a significant increase in car traffic as a result as well as numerous buses that will bring passengers to the facility via the Turnpike as well as local roads.
“The county is doing us a service by conducting this study,” Elwell said.
Jasek said since the county controls most of the traffic in southern Secaucus through County Avenue, Country Road and New County Road, the freeholders will need to become a leading force in dealing with the situation.
The $80,000 grant for the Analysis of Traffic and Development in South Secaucus came as the result of federal grants, with the county kicking in $20,000 in matching funds.
County officials said the study should give them a better idea of possible problems before they occur. State and federal projects are already ongoing in the area, including rail crossing improvements to areas of New County Road and Secaucus Road.
Town officials studying the area, too
Two years ago, the Secaucus Planning Board’s Master Plan Review said the town needed to seek long-term solutions for traffic congestion already plaguing the southern portion of town
“Truck traffic movements to and from the industrial parks in the south end of town are only loosely connected to the highway network, causing local routes to be used for region-based traffic,” the report said. “[The town should] participate in design discussion for the interchange and ramps from the Turnpike to the Secaucus Transfer station to ensure that traffic using the facility does not travel through [Secaucus].”
The Secaucus Police Department is currently conducting its own study of traffic patterns in the area, according to town officials. This study involving the video taping of some areas, and may concentrate on intersections where trains hold up traffic such as along New County Road leading into the Laurel Hill Park area.
“We’re video taping the problems in the area in order to make our case,” Elwell said.
Trains with as many as 100 cars have routinely been rolling out of Croxton Yards at all hours of the day and night, Elwell said, backing up traffic for nearly a mile to Secaucus Road.
“This makes it difficult for firefighters from Washington Hook and Ladder, the nearest firehouse to the south end, to respond to a fire,” Elwell said. “Ambulances with a cardiac unit cannot reach people in that section of town during these times, and ambulances trying to get into Secaucus from the Jersey City Medical Center cannot reach us.”
Elwell said the town plans to hold a summit on traffic conditions and invite many of the key people including federal and state legislators, as well as the acting governor.
“Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto and I have already met with representatives from Norfolk Southern to discuss the matter,” Elwell said. “We will be meeting with them again until we get this resolved.”