The Route 29 tunnel along Trenton’s Delaware River waterfront opened Saturday morning without the usual ribbon cutting ceremony, indicating that even state leaders see little to celebrate about.

New Jersey DOT had touted the tunnel as a way to keep trucks off of local streets by providing an alternate route, ignoring pleas from Trenton residents to simply ban trucks on Route 29 and divert them to interstate highways.Now, after building a tunnel that cost taxpayers $100 million and destroyed the last remaining access to the Delaware River waterfront in Trenton, a Route 29 truck ban has finally been put in place – making the tunnel useless.

In response, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign has written to NJ Governor James McGreevey and DOT Commissioner James Fox, calling for deconstruction of the Route 29 tunnel.Trenton should follow the lead of other cities that have torn down unneeded highways to provide space for recreation and economic development, the letter said.Cases where cities have removed unwanted highways include:

• Portland, Oregon: The state and city tore up the Harbor Drive highway in 1974 to build a 37-acre waterfront park along the Willamette River.

• San Francisco: After an earthquake destroyed some of the elevated Embarcadero Freeway, the state and city removed the remainder and created a surface promenade.

• Milwaukee: In 1991, officials agreed on a plan to remove a portion of never-completed Park East Freeway.The freeway deconstruction will take place this spring (2002) and the corridor will then be used for mixed-use development.

“The Delaware River was an important part of the South Trenton community and was enjoyed by the community as a whole. The only way to restore the River to the community, and to restore the tremendous ecological damage done by Route 29 is to tear it down,” said Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum.

NJ DOT Defeats Purpose of Controversial Road Plan 
(Jan. 22, 2002)

Citizens Voice More Reasons to Stop Route 29 (May 8, 1998) 

The Alternatives to Route 29 (June 5, 1998) 

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