New Jersey Route 92
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Route 92 |
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West end: | US 1 in South Brunswick Twp | ||||||||
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Major junctions: |
US 130 in South Brunswick Twp | ||||||||
East end: | I-95/NJTP in Monroe Township | ||||||||
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Route 92 was a 6.7 mile proposed branch of the New Jersey Turnpike that would've run from west to east, beginning at U.S. Route 1 just north of Ridge Road (old CR 522) in South Brunswick Township, east along Route 32, to Exit 8A in Monroe Township. Prior to construction of Route 133, Route 92 was to follow part of its alignment around Hightstown before turning northwest and continuing beyond U.S. Route 1 to U.S. Route 206 and the never-built Somerset Freeway (Interstate 95).
Route 92 was also assigned in the 1953 renumbering, and by the late 1950s it was named the Princeton-Hightstown Bypass, a freeway planned to connect the Somerset Freeway (an unbuilt section of Interstate 95) in Montgomery Twp (near Skillman), with Route 33 in East Windsor Township (east of Hightstown). As with the Somerset Freeway, local opposition kept the state from building the road. The Somerset Freeway was canceled in 1982, and in 1987 the planned Route 92 was truncated to only run east from U.S. Route 1 near Kingston.
New plans were announced in 1994, this time running to US 1 near Princeton. After public hearings found opposition was still strong, the planned route was truncated to a much shorter bypass of Hightstown only and numbered Route 133. Construction on the road, the first project awarded under New Jersey's modified Design-Build program, began on September 20, 1996. The full road was opened November 30, 1999.
The first plans for Route 92's new alignment, running from Exit 8A of the New Jersey Turnpike (rather than Exit 8) west to U.S. Route 206 near Rocky Hill, were made in 1988, using funds from the cancelled Somerset Freeway. In 1992 the plans were formally transferred to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which announced the new plans in 1994, again dropping the segment west of US 1. All but $6.5 million of the $400 million project was reassigned in November 2005 to widen the Turnpike in southern New Jersey.
On October 5, 2006, the United States Army Corps of Engineers in New York City released their "Final Environmental Impact Statement" regarding the spur. The statement made it clear that the Army Corps was approving the roadway. However, the Authority had already allocated most of the 92 funds to the widening of the turnpike between 8A and 6.
The proposed 92 would feature an interchange at US 1, near the intersection with US 1 and Ridge Road in South Brunswick Twp. A proposed interchange at Perrine Road in South Brunswick would be constructed (However, even if 92 is built, the Perrine interchange might not get built due to community opposition). It would enter Plainsboro, cross over the Amtrak line, and then re-enter South Brunswick. A proposed toll gate would be constructed west of a "modified-cloverleaf" interchange for US 130. 92 would then run along Route 32, onto a newly constructed Turnpike ramp, and would terminate in the area of the 8A toll gate in Monroe Township.
If 92 is built, the portion of the spur between 130 (in South Brunswick) and the Turnpike ramps (in Monroe) would run along 32. After crossing CR 535, 92 would enter Monroe, and have an elevated ramp that would merge in with the entrance ramp from Forsgate Drive west-bound. Route 32 would then have a new alignment; it would run alongside 92 and consist of the same Turnpike ramps that 32 currently uses.
On December 1, 2006, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority terminated it's plans to build the spur from Ridge & 1 in South Brunswick to 8A in Monroe. Since most of the 92 funds had already been diverted to the Turnpike Authority's main concern, it made more sense to cancel the spur due to lack of funding. The Authority's main focus is widening the Turnpike between Exits 6 (in Mansfield Twp) to 8A (in Monroe Township).[1]