Route 92 was a proposed branch of the New Jersey Turnpike that would have run from west to east, beginning at

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...

just north of Ridge Road (old CR 522) in South Brunswick Township, east along Route 32, to Exit 8A in Monroe Township. 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 Township (near Skillman), with Route 33 in East Windsor Township (east of

Hightstown Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,494,Kingston. New plans were announced in 1994, this time running to US 1 near

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

. 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 and 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 canceled 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.

History

Princeton–Hightstown alignment

The first proposed alignments for a freeway from the borough of Princeton to the community of Hightstown originates in the designation of State Highway Route 31-A in 1938 by the New Jersey State Legislature. Construction commenced on the new route, building a new bridge over the Pennsylvania Railroad a year later. This new, bridge replaced the at-grade crossing on Washington Road, which is now a dead-end. When the state highway renumbering occurred on January 1, 1953, the new freeway proposals were designated as Route 92. (Route 31-A was decommissioned at that point, and repealed from state law in 1992.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1991, Page 1298, Section 2.) The first assigned alignment of the Route 92 Freeway dates to the late 1950s, when the

New Jersey State Highway Department The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

as the Princeton-Hightstown Bypass, a new freeway to connect the Somerset Freeway (an unbuilt portion of Interstate 95 in the Montgomery Township community of Skillman) eastward to a junction with Route 33 in the community of East Windsor Township (east of

Hightstown Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,494, By 1967, the New Jersey Department of Transportation announced plans and although monetary issues stalled any forward movements, federal funding soon came in to help resume planning. Route 133 Begin

The highway was proposed and received opposition from the communities of

and Plainsboro, who cited destruction of open space and wetlands, which would reduce the quality of local life. In 1982, the Somerset Freeway was canceled as a project, and the $228 million (1982 USD) that came with it was given around by a partnership, with the New Jersey Department of Transportation suggesting the Route 92 Freeway become one of the six projects to receive funding. Final designs for the freeway were underway in 1986, amid controversy. As a result, the Department of Transportation dropped the section west of

in South Brunswick Township only a year later. After plans for Route 92 were realigned northward in 1988, the Princeton-Hightstown Bypass was revived in 1994 for construction of a new bypass of Hightstown. This new, freeway was designed under the Department of Transportation's first modified design-build program and construction commenced in 1996. The contractors in hire for the project were the Schaivone Construction Group, who set a bid for $57 million (1996 USD). The new freeway, designated as Route 133 instead of Route 92, was opened in November 1999, ending the four-decade fight to construction freeway around Hightstown. The delay occurred due to substantial erosion caused by the weakening

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd tr ...

in 1999.

Turnpike Extension alignment

In 1988, the New Jersey Department of Transportation realigned the proposed Route 92 Freeway off the Princeton-Hightstown Bypass to a route further north. This new alignment was to run from U.S. Route 206 near the community of Rocky Hill in Somerset County to Interchange 8A on the New Jersey Turnpike in Monroe Township in Middlesex County, using the alignment of Route 32 at its eastern terminus. The state cited that this new northerly alignment, funded by the cancellation of the Somerset Freeway, would serve better needs of the people. In 1992, the proposal for Route 92 was turned over to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority from the Department of Transportation, citing the cost was too elevated. Two years later, the Turnpike Authority released new plans for the Route 92 alignment, this time creating a limited-access highway from U.S. Route 1 in South Brunswick Township to Interchange 8A in Monroe Township. This new highway was to cost the Turnpike Authority $300 million (1994 USD). The opposition to the freeway shifted northward, with South Brunswick residents complaining the divide of their community. The environmentalists also cried foul on the destruction of of marsh and the encroachment on local open space. Giving their hands to these factors, the Environmental Protection Agency opposed this project twice during the 1990s, once in January 1997 and once in October 1998. The state realigned the proposals to reduce the loss of wetlands, and also proposed the addition of of wetlands. This proposal gained the support of the state's Department of Environmental Protection, but not the federal. Route 522 and Promenade Boulevard at Route 1

Route 522 and Promenade Boulevard at Route 1

In February 2000, the Turnpike Authority gave in to the orders from the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

to have Route 92 undergo an environmental impact study, which could go up to two years, to help see if they should award the contract for construction. Opponents of the Route 92 project hailed this decision for the thought that the environmental impact statement (EIS) would back up their beliefs. Four months later, the Army Corps of Engineers held a meeting to decide what to take into account for the impact statement and held opinions from both the supporters and opponents of the freeway. Around this time, locals sent an editorial to

News 12 New Jersey News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. Ne ...

to say that Middlesex County Route 522, already a four-lane freeway, should become the primary freeway across the portion of Middlesex County. However, the Turnpike Authority replied citing that Route 522 would be inadequate to handle the amount of traffic by 2015 that Route 92 was to handle. In December 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers approved the statement and although agencies still disagreed on the wetlands issues, held public hearings in 2004. In 2005, the Turnpike Authority relocated most of the Route 92 funding to the widening of the New Jersey Turnpike through the southern and central portions of New Jersey. The remaining funds, $6.5 million (2005 USD), left the project in limbo, and the Army Corps of Engineers released a final statement, finding no other alternative outside of a new alignment. On December 1, 2006, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority terminated its plans to build the spur from Ridge and 1 in South Brunswick to 8A in Monroe. Since most of the Route 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 was widening the Turnpike between Exits 6 in Mansfield Township and 8A in Monroe Township in anticipation of increased traffic coming from the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's w ...

when its interchange with

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

is completed.

Proposed alignments

Princeton–Hightstown Bypass

The first alignment of the Route 92 Freeway, proposed in the 1950s, was to begin at an interchange with Interstate 95, known as the Somerset Freeway in the community of Skillman (in Montgomery Township). The route was supposed to head eastward, crossing an interchange with U.S. Route 206 in Montgomery Township before crossing over County Route 518 in Rocky Hill and interchanging with

New Jersey Route 27 Route 27 is a state highway in New Jersey, United States. It runs from U.S. Route 206 (US 206) in Princeton, Mercer County northeast to an interchange with Route 21 (McCarter Highway) and Broad Street in Newark, Essex County. The route p ...

in Kingston. The route would then turn to the south and interchange with U.S. Route 1 and County Route 522 in the community of

Monmouth Junction Monmouth Junction is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) located within South Brunswick Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.Pennsylvania Railroad to the north of

New Jersey Route 64 Route 64 is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a state-maintained bridge over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line in West Windsor. Route 64 begins at an intersection with County Route 526 and County Route ...

in Plainsboro, turning to the southeast along the

Millstone River The Millstone River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. The Millstone River begins in western Monmouth County and flows westward throu ...

. After crossing the Millstone, Route 92 was to interchange with County Route 535 in Cranbury before entering East Windsor, where it would interchange with U.S. Route 130. From there, the route would meet the New Jersey Turnpike at Interchange 8 before reaching its eastern terminus at an interchange with

New Jersey Route 33 Route 33 is a state highway in the central part of the US state of New Jersey. The highway extends , from an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1) and Route 129 in Trenton, Mercer County, east to an intersection with Route 71 in Neptune, ...

in the Twin Rivers community in East Windsor.

Turnpike Extension alignment (post-1994)

On the turnpike extension alignment proposed in 1994, Route 92 was to begin at a trumpet interchange with U.S. Route 1 in South Brunswick. The interchange would have also served access to Schalks Crossing Road (Middlesex CR 683). The highway was to head to the southeast and cross under Perrine Road, which was proposed to have a brand new overpass and a westbound interchange. (There was also to be an eastbound entrance ramp from Perrine Road.) After curving to the east, Route 92 was to enter Plainsboro, cross the

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

Northeast Corridor Line The Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail service operated by NJ Transit between the Trenton Transit Center and New York Penn Station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in the United States. The service is the successor to Pennsylvania Railroad ...

and Devil's Brook, and then re-enter South Brunswick. Upon entrance in South Brunswick, Route 92 would have passed through the western section of an inland

freshwater marsh A freshwater marsh is a non-tidal, non-forested marsh wetland that contains fresh water, and is continuously or frequently flooded. Freshwater marshes primarily consist of sedges, grasses, and emergent plants. Freshwater marshes are usually found ...

, which has been the source of the Lawrence Brook. Then, it would pass to the south of a municipal landfill in Sondek Park owned by the Township of South Brunswick. Continuing east-southeast from there, it would have intersected with Friendship Road and would have continued along with Friendship Road past the next intersection with Miller Road. There, Route 92 was to turn to the southeast along with Friendship Road and cross through a toll station. It would have entered a large interchange with U.S. Route 130 and an access route to Friendship Road. Route 92's interchange with Route 130 was to be a cloverleaf interchange and from there, the highway was to follow current day Route 32 through Monroe Township. There, the highway was to continue southeastward, interchanging with local roads and continuing through an interchange with County Route 535 before merging into Interchange 8A with the New Jersey Turnpike, where Route 92 was to end.

Proposed interchanges

Route 92 (Princeton-Hightstown)

Route 92 (post-1994)

References

External links

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The Roads of Metro New York – NJ 92 Turnpike Extension (unbuilt)No 92: Home
Transportation in Mercer County, New Jersey 092 Transportation in Middlesex County, New Jersey