The New Jersey Township of Byram is gaining allies in its efforts to stop the NJ Dept. of Transportation plan to widen Route 206.  In late May, the Office of State Planning told the Township Council that the widening plan is incompatible with the state plan and contradicts “smart growth” principles.  Representatives of the Office of State Planning told the New Jersey Herald they plan to speak with DOT about revising the project. 

NJ DOT wants to widen Route 206 from two lanes to four for 1.2 miles through the center of Byram. The township, however, wants a scaled-down project that realigns one intersection where traffic backs up. Byram has received an $80,000 smart growth grant from the Office of State Planning to revitalize its downtown. The expanded highway would preclude any hope of fostering a more pedestrian-friendly main street. 

The township’s revitalization efforts have also led to adoption of land-use principles that focus development in the town center. The town council, local planning board and the township’s environmental commission officially oppose widening Route 206.  However, efforts to dissuade NJ DOT from widening Route 206 have so far failed to stop the project.

Town officials wrote a series of letters to state agencies and elected officials in May, seeking to round up opposition to the road widening.  In response, the NJ Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell and the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority have urged DOT to rethink the project. 

Byram is located in one of New Jersey’s least sprawl-afflicted areas in rural Sussex County, in the farthest northwest corner of the state. A large portion of Sussex County has been designated by the state for limited development and open space preservation. But projects like Rte 206 and Route 15 (MTR #297)threaten to literally pave the way for more sprawl.

NJ DOT also plans to widen Route 206 further south through Somerset County townships of Raritan, Hillsborough and Montgomery.  A new five mile, four lane elevated bypass to Route 206 is also planned, running through Hillsborough and Montgomery (MTR #285). 

In Pinelands and Highlands, NJ Preserves Threatened by Hway Expansion (Dec. 11, 2000)

Study Reveals Bypass Will Worsen NJ Rt. 206 Bottleneck (Sept. 11, 2000)

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