The rotary is expected to lessen accidents at the intersection of Route 541 and Willow Grove Road.
At this week’s meeting, the Shamong Township Committee reviewed the Burlington County engineer’s concept plan to put a rotary at the intersection of Route 541 and Willow Grove Road.
Township Administrator Sue Onorato said the county determined the intersection was in the top 20 worst intersections in the state and top four worst intersections in the county, and therefore suggested a rotary be implemented to reduce incidents.
The committee originally proposed the idea of putting flashing LED lights on the stop signs on Willow Grove Road to grab the attention of drivers and reduce the number of accidents that occur there.
Currently, there are signs below the stop signs that notify drivers the intersection is not a four-way stop.
Due to the severity of that intersection, the county is willing to put a rotary in place — a project that will take multiple years — to reduce the speed of drivers and with hopes of reducing accidents that occur there.
Dan Guzzi, township engineer, stated the project cost is expected to be about $20 million, however, the federal government will fund the entire project, including property acquisition and improvements/maintenance associated with it. There will be no municipal cost.
“[Rotary’s] do tend to work once people see them and there’s signage there. They’re confident that this will reduce the accidents and the incidents dramatically,” Guzzi said.
In the interim, the county is offering to install LED flashers that the township originally sought out.
Since the property the municipal building sits on will be impacted, Guzzi said he will suggest to the county engineers an option of implementing “back door access” from the parking lot, allowing an easier way to exit the municipal building parking lot.
Along with municipal property, the instillation of the rotary would be expected to impact a lot nearby and will minimally affect the property of two residential properties nearby.
“They really won’t notice it and traffic keeps moving, I don’t think there’s going to be much of an impact to them because it is shifted on this side. It’s a bigger impact to us and to the property across the street,” Guzzi said.
Township Solicitor Douglas Heinold suggested pursuing the plan to construct a rotary. Since the county suggested they implement this to reduce incidents, the township will avoid any potential future arguments against them if a fatal incident were to occur.
The township is not involved in the design or construction of the rotary, it is only responsible for reviewing the plans, however, Guzzi will contact the county to discuss its approach with the residential properties.
The next committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal building located at 105 Willow Grove Road in Shamong.
