Opinions differ on the Marlton Circle construction
Four months after the circle construction has been completed at the intersection of Route 70 and Route 73, several merchants at the bordering Marlton Crossings shopping center have differing opinions on the impact it has had on their business.
On Friday, June 24, around 5 p.m., the New Jersey Department of Transportation announced that the 70-year-old Marlton Circle would officially be eliminated when the new overpass at the grade-separated intersection was fully opened to traffic. The overpass was opened later on that night.
Route 73’s four travel lanes — two in each direction — now rise above and over Route 70’s four lanes. The Route 73 northbound lanes were opened in March.
The multi-million dollar project began in April of 2009. Along with opening the Route 73 southbound travel lanes, NJDOT will eliminate a temporary left-turn lane from Route 70 westbound to Route 73 southbound. Motorists will use a new cloverleaf ramp to make that move.
A similar new ramp to accommodate motorists traveling from Route 70 westbound to Route 73 northbound is already in service. A system of new ramps provides Route 73 motorists with full access to Route 70, according to the NJDOT.
Even with the new traffic reconfiguration, Fred Kaviani, owner of the Arthur Murray Dance Studio, said anyone who is near the intersection can see that the problem has just been relocated. While the Route 70 traffic seems to be a bit more improved, Kaviani said the Route 73 overpass is a parking lot between 5 and 6 p.m.
“Since the traffic has gotten a little bit more difficult on Route 73, we’ve lost appointments that we’ve had at 5:30 or 6:15 p.m. More and more people don’t schedule those early appointments because of the traffic on 73, they can’t get here by then,” Kaviani said. “If you come by and sit around at 5:30 p.m. you see all the cars just sitting on the ramp at Route 73. It’s bad.”
Mike Besser, manager of Fleet Feet, said he’s actually seen a marked improvement on the traffic flow in the intersection.
Besser said he’s taken to the intersection several times in his car and remarked that it’s “much easier to drive” in the area now that the construction has been completed.
“I’ve seen the benefits of it, it’s much easier to get around. We haven’t seen a negative impact at all. I think it’s much easier to get here now and we’ve seen people who have struggled to get here in the past tell us that it’s much better now,” he said. “We hope customers come back and see it’s not scary anymore to get to the Marlton crossing. The traffic flow has been better. I think if people continue to learn the ins and outs of it, it will get event better. I think we’ve seen a positive change and hope that it continues.”
