Princeton Council Considers Valley Road Project In Wake Of Transportation Projects Shutdown

Princeton, NJ -- After considering the possibility of defying Gov. Chris Christie’s Executive Order No. 210, Princeton Council ultimately decided to wait for the state to release funding before finishing the reconstruction of Valley Road, Mayor Liz Lempert said Tuesday morning.

“We do risk having the cost of the project increase, but this was deemed less risky than forfeiting the state funding,” Lempert said in an email.

Those increased costs includes higher labor and asphalt costs, as well as stormwater issues. However, defying the order meant the town risked not receiving $70,000 from the state to complete the project.

At her press conference on Monday, Lempert said council would consider the issue during its meeting that night. She said council was unanimously in agreement, but no formal vote was taken.

There is one layer of paving left before the project is complete, according to the Princeton Packet. Waiting for the funding to be released from the state means the risk of damage to the subsurface if there is an especially harsh winter.

The Valley Road project is one of multiple road projects statewide that were impacted by the Executive Order calling for the immediate shutdown of all ongoing work funded by the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority (TTFA), which the state had said would run out of money by the end of the summer.

On Sept. 19, Mercer County officials announced they were serving a “notice of claim” against the State of New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Transportation due to the continued shutdown of county projects.

This includes the replacement of a bridge on Carter Road in Lawrence Township that has caused he state to postpone reconstruction of two historic bridges on Route 206 in Princeton until next spring.

A notice of claim is the precursor to a lawsuit, and is required when filing a suit against a public entity in New Jersey.