Proceed with caution; DOT continues work on Route 206 in Byram

Byram - Grin and bear it, but remember to keep both hands on the wheel. Byram authorities are urging motorists to use extra precaution when traveling through what they already consider the worst stretch of roadway in the township. As the state Department of Transportation continues work to make Route 206 safer for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians, Byram officials reduced the speed limit from 45 to 35 mph for the 1.2-mile stretch of roadway at Cat Swamp Mountain near Cranberry Lake and the Byram shopping plaza. “We’ve had accidents up there even without the construction,” said Byram police chief Raymond Rafferty. “By reducing the speed limits, if motorists conform to them, we will make it safer for anyone going through.” In 15 years on the township police force, Rafferty has seen its bends, its poor site lines. He’s seen the motorists increase speed on the roadway to pass a vehicle before the hazardous merge at the top of the hill. And while he’s seen people walk away from accidents on Route 206, he’s also seen too many people who don’t. In the past 30 years, Rafferty said there have been 33 traffic fatalities on Route 206 at Cat Swamp Mountain, the latest accident leaving three dead in 1999. DOT, which continued blasting near the North Shore of Cranberry Lake this week, said the $15 million project is designed to improve operations and safety by widening the roadway, extending the northbound climbing lane, reconstructing the horizontal and vertical curvatures, and removing rock face to facilitate sight distances. The roadway is expected to remain at two lanes until April, when mitigation of a high-hazard rock fall area, which includes a substantial rock outcrop hazard and a substandard berm in the northbound direction, is completed. The entire project is scheduled for completion in October. A DOT spokesperson said the stretch of roadway has a long history of traffic accidents and the improvement will go a long way toward eliminating potential hazards caused by motorists taking their eyes off the road. Once completed, the roadway will include one through lane, a climbing lane for slower vehicles such as trucks and buses, and a full shoulder lane on the northbound side; and one full shoulder lane and a through lane on the southbound side.