Roadwork draws early protest
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
By JOHN BRAND
Herald Senior Writer
A plan to widen and reconstruct a more than 7-mile stretch of
Newton-Sparta Road is being met with opposition from a grassroots
group in Sparta. The plan is still 10 years away from breaking
ground.
Cappy Daggett, of Fox Trail in Sparta, had 50 lawn signs made
that read "No Route 10 in Sparta," a reference to the heavily
traveled road in Morris and Essex counties. Daggett has placed one
sign outside her husband's law office on Newton-Sparta Road, and
hopes supporters will place the signs outside their businesses and
homes.
The county has been communicating with officials in the three
municipalities that would be affected by construction and potential
land acquisition — Newton, Andover Township and Sparta. The county
also plans to seek federal funding to help cover construction costs,
Assistant Sussex County Engineer John Risko added.
The county is now using a $480,000 "scoping" grant to study and
evaluate the socio-economic impact the construction might have on
surrounding homes and businesses. It has held public hearings on the
matter.
The Sparta Planning Board will hold a hearing on the proposal May
17.
Andover Township Police Chief Phillip Coleman said the high-speed
traffic along the road creates dangerous situations for drivers
making turns on and off the road from a variety of businesses, and
for buses exiting the Florence M. Burd elementary school.
"They have to do something. We have quite a few accidents along
that stretch," Coleman said.
A Domino's pizza delivery driver was killed in February when his
vehicle was struck in the rear while waiting to make a left turn
from Newton-Sparta Road into the Domino's parking lot. The crash
pushed his car into oncoming traffic, where it was struck head-on by
another vehicle.
Coleman hopes the county will reduce the 50 mph speed limit to at
most 40 mph, saying the pace of the traffic exacerbates the road's
safety problems.
Newton officials have expressed concerns about the county's
potential acquisition of Cono's Auto Body on the corner of
Newton-Sparta Road and Diller Avenue, but agrees that some
construction needs to occur.
In Sparta, Daggett says her January letter to The New Jersey
Herald's editor gave rise to the grassroots group, Preserve Sparta.
She said she has collected approximately 1,000 signatures against
the proposal. One of her main concerns is the county's plan to
prohibit some left-hand turns in favor of adding U-turn jughandles,
which, she fears could cause problems for emergency vehicles.
She also is against the construction of a median between
eastbound and westbound travel lanes.
"We move up here for a rural way of life," Daggett said. "I know
things change and I know traffic increases but you don't need
medians and jughandles. (The project) can be minimized. (The county)
can reduce (its scope)."
Sussex County Administrator John Eskilson said the county takes
seriously the public's comments regarding the plan. He said the
plans could be altered between now and when the final design is
complete.
"Whether or not we'll be able to accommodate all the comments,
given traffic flow and safety, I don't know," Eskilson said. "At
some point well down the road there has to be a point in time when
one says 'OK, this is the project that goes.' What we have so far is
the result of the best thinking to date."
Statistics show that 365 accidents occurred on Newton-Sparta
Road, also known as county routes 517 and 616, from 1999 to 2001,
the most recent numbers made available on the county's Web site.
The project's plans include the addition of multiple turning
lanes, traffic signals, bike paths, some sidewalks and the closure
of some side streets, starting at Woodside Avenue in Newton and
extending through the Route 181 intersection in Sparta to just
before the Route 517 bypass.
Risko said the road carries approximately 20,000 cars each day,
making it the most heavily traveled county road. It is a convenient
way to and from Route 15, which connects to Interstate 80. The
road's peak volume is between routes 181 and 517 in Sparta, where
daily traffic can top 25,000 cars a day, Risko said.
The county also plans to modify Limecrest Road, near Cumberland
Farms in Andover Township. The county has proposed realigning the
road at the intersection and adding a left-turn lane as an entrance
to Long Pond School.
More information on the proposal can be found at www.sussex.nj.us/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=7&TPID=5190.
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