Last December, it was announced that Mount Airy Road, one of the busiest roads in Bernardsville and Basking Ridge would close on January 5th, 2015. The detour commenced at the end of the holiday season, causing those who used the road to commute or get home, approximately 9,000 a day, to have a longer travel time getting around the borough. The construction has progressed rapidly in the past months, as improvements include the repairing of walls and sidewalks, the widening of roads and sidewalks, and making necessary “safety improvements”, as described by Mike Deak of the website My Central Jersey.
Senior Bunny Campbell said, “I’m excited for the road to be open so it’s easier to get to friends that live around there and not have to zigzag through side streets.” For those who need to get to streets off of Mount Airy Road, this detour makes the car ride a bit longer, as all the cars originally on the main road now travel through streets like Bernards Ave, which can cause traffic.
The project also added a safe shoulder that can be used by bikers and joggers. The main reasons for the reparation of the road deal with the high accident rate, 77% higher than that of the New Jersey state average, due to the road’s hazardous conditions pre-construction. Ritacco Construction of Belleville is in charge of the soon to be new and improved Mt. Airy Road, that is scheduled to reopen within the next couple of months, and hopefully as early as November.
