The New Jersey Turnpike Authority apparently disagrees with our view (expressed here last week) that construction of Route 92 across southern Middlesex County is an affront to efforts to preserve New Jersey's open spaces and contain sprawl.

In its 1997 "Report to the Governor on Advancing the NJ State Development and Redevelopment Plan," the Turnpike Authority says its plan to build a brand new expressway across open space "respects the State Plan goals to Conserve the State's Natural Resources, Protect the Environment, and Ensure Sound and Integrated Planning Statewide."

Yet for most of its 6.7 mile length, the roadway would bisect a tract designated under the State Plan as part of New Jersey's "Environmentally Sensitive Planning Area." The affected area is the second largest of Middlesex County's few tracts of this classification.

While one might expect a compelling transportation need to be put forward for a so destructive a project, the NJTA has been unable to articulate that need, much less demonstrate Route 92's ability to meet it. One supposed benefit of the project is to improve north-south flow on Route 1 by removing 5,000 vehicles per day from the segment north of the new intersection with Rte 92. But 92 will also dump an additional 10,000-15,000 vehicles on Route 1 south of the new road, however. Will this help traffic flow? Route 1 will be widened south of the intersection to accommodate the new traffic.

While several local east-west roadways do suffer from congestion problems, Route 92's supposed benefit to these roads is even less convincing. Parts of the new road are projected to be congested from opening day. Given agencies' consistent underprediction of demand induced by roads in rapidly developing areas such as Middlesex County, the local roads will likely see pre-92 levels of congestion almost immediately, as long distance trips flood the new Rte 1-Turnpike shortcut. This new traffic across farmland, wooded and wetland areas will also carry a far higher percentage of truck traffic than the area's east-west roads do now.

As is well known from the experience of communities within striking distance of I-287 or other new expressways, towns far beyond the project's study area will feel Route 92's effects. The Village of Kingston, near the proposed western terminus of Route 92, has expressed its dismay over the new road, quite reasonably envisioning an influx of trucks from Route 206 (now undergoing major widening) and other Somerset County highways seeking easy access to the Turnpike.