County officials seek to reduce bumps in proposed road improvements

Andover - It is no accident that local residents, church, and government have come together - just a little traffic. The parties have a vested interest in proposed improvements to Newton-Sparta Road, arguably the most important, but certainly the most traveled roadway in the county and the site of numerous accidents in recent years. Any construction is still far down the road, but county officials behind the project are looking for any bumps that might detour the planned expansion. In Andover and Newton, and most recently in Sparta, the county hosted informational meetings to gauge public support for the proposed changes. “There’s a lot of us that have to agree to disagree and come to a solution,” said Frances Smith, general manager of the Lake Mohawk Country Club in Sparta, which borders Newton-Sparta Road on the west side of the private residential community. County officials are in the process of applying for federal funds to address safety and traffic congestion along a seven-mile stretch of Newton-Sparta Road from Woodside Avenue in Newton to the Route 517 bypass near the Stop & Shop in Sparta. The project is expected to cost $10 to 15 million and any construction would not commence before 2012, said John Risko, assistant county engineer. According to Corey L. Stoner, of Frankford-based Harold E. Pellow & Associates, a design consultant for the project, in the past six years there have been some 500 accidents reported along the roadway, 230 of them in Andover. He said that from 1999 to 2001, 150 accidents were reported along the Sparta portion of Newton-Sparta Road, most rear-end collisions when motorists had stopped to make a left-hand turn. County officials said they are taking into consideration public opinion before drafting a formal plan to complete the scooping phase of the project, valued alone at $480,000. All Sparta residences within 200 feet of the Newton-Sparta roadway were notified of the proposed improvements, said Stoner. “We’re looking at making changes based on our meetings,” said Stoner. “People are concerned about a four-lane design scheme from Pope John to Route 181, but once they hear the traffic numbers, their concerns are met.” Stoner said 13,000 vehicles use the roadway west of Diller Avenue in Newton during an average 24-hour period; 20,000 east of Diller Avenue; and 20,000 in both Andover and Sparta. He said the most traveled portion is at the intersection near Pope John High School to Route 181 in Sparta, where 25,000 vehicles pass during any given 24-hour time frame. Traffic and safety improvements to Newton-Sparta Road may include reconfiguration of existing intersections and lane expansion from 2 to 4 lanes, particularly in Sparta, where traffic is heaviest, said Stoner. Additional lanes could mean extending the width by 8 to 10 feet on either side of the street to create a roadway spanning a total of 60-feet wide to accommodate two more lanes, a center median and combined shoulder space, said Stoner. “Our roadway is designed for conditions that are here today and will be here in the future,” said Stoner. “People are concerned about the roadway widening. Anytime you’re going to widen a roadway in front of someone’s house, people will get emotional. But people understand something needs to be done.” One of the options put forth, but eventually rejected, was to establish an additional roadway that would extend off Newton-Sparta Road to behind Our Lady of the Lake Church or further back of Pope John High School to reduce congestion during morning and evening rush hours when classes are recessed. “Our main concern is about losing exits, we’ve already closed one,” said Msgr. Paul F. Knauer, of Our Lady of the Lake in Sparta. “Nobody is saying when this will happen, but nothing we know will happen tomorrow.” The improvements also include right-in and right-out lanes onto North Shore and South Shore roads in Lake Mohawk, where traffic has increased from non-members leading onto West Shore and East Shore trails. “A good amount of traffic does cut through,” said Smith. “A lot of it is ours (club members), but we think it will get more severe as the town develops.” Smith said the club is looking into installing gates at North and South Shore roads. She said club members had previously objected to a manned-security booth near the entrance to West Shore Trail. A proposed change in the Andover section of the roadway includes the installation of a traffic signal at Yates Avenue, a dedicated right-turn lane at Lawrence Road, and the reconfiguration of bus routes into the Florence M. Burd School near the Rolling Hills golf course. “People are concerned about alternate access,” said Stoner. “But, there’s no way to bring traffic through via any other roadway. This is the main connection in the county.” Changes also might include installation of four left-turn lanes at the intersection with Limecrest Road, shared left-turn lanes at most other intersections and dedicated left-turn lanes into some side streets.