U.F. tired of waiting for Sharon Station Rd. repairs Township pushes for county to take road into its jurisdiction BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer Upper Freehold UPPER FREEHOLD — The township wants Sharon Station Road to be widened. The Township Committee voted 4-1 on Dec. 7 to ask Monmouth County to expedite plans to rebuild and widen Sharon Station Road next year. Committeeman Stephen Alexander cast the dissenting vote. The township has pursued certain improvements on Sharon Station Road with the county for many years. It wants the county to realign the road’s intersection with Route 539, reconstruct the three bridges on the road and the roadbed, widen the road and improve its drainage, make turning-lane improvements at Route 526 and construct an interchange with Interstate 195 (I-195). Such an interchange would move vehicles through the township in the most direct manner, according to the resolution. The resolution noted that the governing body has addressed concerns of residents regarding speeding, heavy traffic, and the passing of vehicles and school buses on the road in recent months. Certain road repairs have already been made, including the improvements of sight distances at the road’s intersections with Sleepy Hollow Road and Dutchess Drive in the Woods at Cream Ridge development. A no-passing zone was created and a double yellow line was painted on the road from Route 539 to Route 526. Signs were also placed along the road warning of a “School Bus Stop Ahead.” The Township Comm-ittee also authorized Township Engineer Glenn Gerken to perform a speed-limit study on the road. Gerken was asked to forward the data he collected to the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to justify the 10-mph reduction of the road’s speed limit from 45 mph to 35 mph. The resolution referred to Gerken’s traffic study, which reported a regional service level of more than 7,000 vehicle trips per day on Sharon Station Road, including about 800 daily truck trips. The combination of passenger vehicles, buses and commercial vehicles requires a road design, such as a boulevard-type one that would make use of appropriate traffic-calming measures to address regional traffic impacts, according to the resolution. The resolution states that the township supports the county’s plan to reconstruct the bridges on Sharon Station Road, as well as a county resolution that was adopted two years ago with regard to the county taking the road into its jurisdiction. The township’s resolution asks that plans for reconstruction of the road be expedited to rebuild and widen the road next year to a boulevard-like design, with input from the township engineer. Alexander said that by giving jurisdiction of the road to the county, the township would no longer have leverage on limiting truck traffic on Sharon Station Road. He asked the committee to hold off its vote until it could meet with the county to finalize a traffic plan. Deputy Mayor William Miscoski disagreed, saying it would cost the township close to $4 million to improve Sharon Station Road should it remain in the township’s jurisdiction. He said the county would not stop trucks from traveling down Route 539, and that keeping trucks away from Sharon Station Road would mean sending them past the school. Alexander said the county would be responsible for fixing the three bridges no matter who has jurisdiction of the road. He also said that the developers of two planned subdivisions would be responsible for improving the road in front of their developments. Alexander suggested that the committee submit its plans to limit truck traffic on the road to the DOT before moving forward. Miscoski said not moving forward on the resolution for getting the road fixed would be a disservice to the public. Mayor Stephen Fleischacker said the road needs immediate improvement because of its high volume of traffic. He said Sharon Station Road would close next year if the county follows through with its plans to fix the bridges. He added that it seems most prudent to make improvements to the road at the same time the bridges are repaired. “Just because the county has jurisdiction doesn’t put us in a lesser position,” he said. According to Fleischacker, any decision regarding truck traffic on the road would require state approval and county consensus. He said whether the township or the county owns the road, it would still be a battle to get trucks rerouted around the town. “We have a window of opportunity to improve the road in 2007,” he said. Since more regional than local truck traffic uses the road, Fleischacker said he does not want to put the entire tax burden of the road improvements on Upper Freehold residents. Fleischacker said the money has been appropriated by the county for fixing the road and bridges next year. “I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but it’s a major connector road,” Miscoski said. “We’re acting like it’s a little country rural road and we don’t want traffic.”