By STEVE PRISAMENT
Staff Writer

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP – Construction is finally under way at the intersection of Tilton and Pomona roads just north of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center after more than three years of holdups to protect endangered species.

County Executive Dennis Levinson said public safety has been put at risk by the delay and the state should consider that “human beings are also a living species.”

According to Levinson, the New Jersey Pinelands Commission appears to have looked more closely at the county project than at private developments that have come before it for approval.

“It was interesting that they could find a half-dozen endangered species at the site of our intersection,” he said. “But it was OK to clear-cut acres not far away in either direction. None of the species were there? That is something that should be looked into.”

Levinson also said he understands drivers’ frustration with twice-daily traffic jams at the intersection.

 “Establishing north-south connections in the county was a major priority when I became county executive,” said Levinson, who became executive in 2000. “This part is integral of what we’re trying to do. Our east-west traffic is OK. We have the Black Horse and White Horse pikes and the Atlantic City Expressway to go to Atlantic City. But now we have 30,000 people in each of the growth townships. Egg Harbor Township has a bigger population than Atlantic City. The problem is to be able to move these people safely throughout the county.”

Widening Wrangleboro-Pomona Road to four lanes has been a major goal.

“The intersections are choke points,” Levinson said. “We need them finished before anything else can proceed.”

He said that he is pleased that the work has finally begun.

“The good news for taxpayers is that it’s all being done with low bidders,” Levinson said. “But the cost would have been considerably less without the delays and modifications to accommodate the endangered species.”

Saying he is “for the environment,” Levinson said that at some point common sense has to prevail, and that it didn’t make sense that there were multiple endangered species at the intersection but none just down the road.

“I’m very pleased that there has not been a tragedy there during the delay,” he said.

County Planner Joe Maher said the project time was nearly doubled by environmental concerns.

“It took us an extra year and a half,” he said. “We had to establish a habitat for several different species, and we had to pare down the intersection. It’s not going to be as wide as we’d like it.”

DeFalco & Bisconti of Atco won the contract for $2.7 million, Maher said.

Tree clearing began in February, Maher said. Drainage pipes are now being installed.

“All the current work is outside the road surface,” he said. “In about a month we will start having lane delays. The intersection probably won’t be closed for more than one or two days.”

He said the preparation included meeting with municipal leaders and chambers of commerce of the three communities most affected: Hamilton, Egg Harbor and Galloway townships.

“We’re also working closely with FAA Tech because of the number of workers they have right there,” Maher said. “When the intersection is closed, they will open another gate for their employees to exit and go a different way.”

He estimated the work at the intersection would take four months – with completion scheduled by the end of June.

Hamilton Township Mayor Charles Pritchard said it was a long overdue improvement that will solve a double problem.

“It’s extremely dangerous and very congested,” he said. The work needed to be done. I think the Pinelands Commission priorities were a bit skewed.”

Galloway Township Mayor Tom Bassford agreed.

He said the county has done all it could and that traffic problems would only be getting worse with construction planned for Blue Heron Pines.

“With the state environmental commissions,” he said, “tree frogs come before the residents of Atlantic County.”
Egg Harbor Township Mayor James “Sonny” McCullough said the expansion of the intersection is necessary.

“The traffic between the growth communities has grown tremendously. We can’t have traffic backed up like it has been,” McCullough said.

He said the county plan to improve north-south traffic is sound and the need is increasingly more immediate.

The reconstruction of the intersection will take place in stages to minimize traffic disruption. It will include traffic signal upgrades, designated left turn lanes, and the installation of a storm water system and infiltration basin with bicycle-safe grates.

Traffic advisories will be posted to the county website at www.aclink.org.