Route 206 Widening Project Halted In Hillsborough After Contractor Fired

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Construction on the $41 million federally-funded project to widen Route 206 has come to a halt after the New Jersey Department of Transportation terminated its contract with Konkus Corporation, said Hillsborough Mayor Shawn Lipani.

"Obviously if you’ve been driving around town you’ve noticed the omission of presence on Route 206 and the construction thereof, said Lipani at the May 23 Committee meeting. "Unfortunately I need to announce that the NJDOT has decided to terminate its contract with the contractor Konkus."

A letter from a representative of the Department of Transportation was sent to the township announcing the news.

As a result of the termination of the contract, NJDOT must deal directly with Berkley Surety in furtherance of this project.

"Neither NJDOT nor the surety wants to delay the project further and both are taking all the necessary steps required in the process of taking the responsibility for the completion of the project from Konkus Corporation and placing the responsibility with the surety," according to the letter.

"I'm just going to say I don’t think you will see anything soon on the road. I am not a lawyer but I am sure there are plenty of lawyers working on this," said Lipani. "There is obviously more to come, but you won’t see anybody on the road for the next foreseeable future."

Committeeman Doug Tomson referred back to 2021 when Governor Phil Murphy and New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti broke ground on the project.

"I hope that they meant every word that they said when they were here about how critical 206 is to the infrastructure of not only Hillsborough and central New Jersey in general and how we are an extremely important corridor for the entire state," said Tomson. "I will trust DOT at their word that they will get this done as quick as possible and try to get this backup and running but this is extremely disappointing."

The NJDOT also stated in its letter that they take "the safety of Hillsborough residents and the State of New Jersey with the utmost importance and privacy."

Anyone with questions or concerns is asked to contact Megan Fackler with NJDOT at 609-963-1982 or Megan.Fackler@dot.nj.gov.

Route 206 Widening Project

Murphy and other officials broke ground on April 27, 2021, on the $41 million federally-funded project to widen Route 206 between Doctors Way and Valley Road in Hillsborough. Read More: Officials Break Ground On Hillsborough Route 206 Widening Project

The road-widening project was to create two travel lanes in each direction of Route 206 from Doctors Way and Valley Road which will enhance safety and ease traffic congestion. Currently, the highway only has one travel lane in each direction in this section.

The project also included the construction of a new median barrier which will eliminate left turns to and from properties located along the highway and direct turns onto newly signalized intersections and jughandles.

The project was to be completed in three stages with most construction activities being performed at night to reduce the impact to the public. The project was expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.

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