No date for Route 92 report release
By: Sharlee Joy DiMenichi , Staff Writer
South Brunswick Post, 12/04/2003
Environmental Impact Statement on proposed roadway had been due in May.
No new release date has been set for an environmental study on the
proposed Route 92.
The report had been scheduled for release in May, said Army Corps of
Engineers' spokesman Richard Tomer. However according to Army Corps
staff members, state officials asked that Gov. James McGreevey's
office, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state
Department of Transportation have a chance to review the data in terms
of the smart-growth initiatives.
Mayor Frank Gambatese and Councilman Ed Luciano met with officials of
the Army Corps of Engineers in New York City Nov. 25 to discuss a
timeline for the release of an Environmental Impact Statement on the
proposed roadway, but no date was available, Mayor Gambatese said
Tuesday. The meeting provided township officials with another chance to
talk to staff of the Army Corps of Engineers about township opposition
to the proposed roadway.
The proposed 6.7-mile, limited-access roadway would link Route 1 near
Ridge Road with the N.J. Turnpike at Exit 8A. The proposed roadway
would cut through the northern tip of Plainsboro and run east to west
through much of South Brunswick along Friendship Road. The Army Corps
of Engineers is conducting an environmental review of the proposed road
because building Route 92 would require filling in wetlands. The
federal Environmental Protection Agency refused environmental permits
for the highway in 1998. The state Department of Environmental
Protection, however, issued permits for it in 1999. The Army Corps of
Engineers is required to review the project because of the
disagreement. The Army Corps reviewed the project and determined that
an environmental impact statement was necessary.