Council mulls closing South, Wall streets

DOT plans

improvements to routes 35/36 interchange

BY SUE MORGAN

Staff Writer

South Street and Wall Street in Eatontown could eventually become cul-de-sacs under a borough plan to help the state improve traffic flow at the heavily-traveled interchange of Routes 35 and 36.

Under Eatontown’s plan and as shown in engineering drawings from the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT), South Street would terminate at its southeast end less than a quarter mile from the point where it crosses Wyckoff Road.

South Street, a borough thoroughfare, would actually empty into the parking lots of two shopping centers, namely Office Max Plaza and the Ethan Allen furniture store, according to Mayor Gerald Tarantolo who presented the DOT drawings at the Borough Council’s workshop meeting on Jan. 12.

Even though the merchants in that plaza might have to give up some blacktop to form a right of way, they favor the borough’s plans as a means of helping the DOT improve a nearby jughandle leading off Route 36 westbound, Tarantolo explained.

However, cutting off Wall Street, a county road, right before it meets a service road connecting Route 35 northbound to Route 36 east might be a bit of a tougher sell for the mayor, who presented those plans to the council at the same workshop session.

Tarantolo indicated that he expects to strike a deal with the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, who oversee Wall Street, to allow the borough to take control of the county road and terminate it into a cul-de-sac.

Some members of the Borough Council were skeptical about whether or not it is a good idea to dead-end Wall Street, which residents in some neighborhoods behind a nearby Pathmark supermarket use to access Route 36.

Under the agreement Tarantolo hopes to arrange with the freeholder board, Eatontown would take ownership of a one-mile stretch of Wall Street at its most northwestern end between Route 36 and Industrial Way East.

In exchange, Eatontown would give the county control of both Industrial Way East and Industrial Way West, presently borough thoroughfares.

Eatontown, rather than the county government, would be able to work directly with the state DOT as that agency draws up a new design for the point where northbound Route 35 meets eastbound Route 36, Tarantolo explained.

Referring to correspondence received from DOT Commissioner Jack Lettiere, Tarantolo stressed that teaming the borough government and the state agency together to fix that portion of the intersection could help get the crossroads completed in ample time for the Breeder’s Cup scheduled for nearby Monmouth Park in fall of 2007.

“[DOT] feels that if we take the initiative to expedite the right of way process, we could have a completion date of spring, 2007,” Tarantolo said.

The borough would also then be left to deal directly with any property owners whose land might be taken as a result of the intersection construction, he added.

Closing off, or vacating the southernmost portion of South Street, likewise enables the borough to cooperate with DOT as it tries to enhance an existing jughandle from Route 36 westbound onto Route 35 southbound, he added.

The owners of Ethan Allen and the Office Max Plaza have been advised of the borough’s intentions for closing South Street at their parking lots and are on board, according to Tarantolo.

Under plans presented by the Manalapan-based Schoor-DePalma engineering firm, the southeast end of South Street would trail off into the parking lots of the Ethan Allen and Office Max shopping centers.

“Office Max is losing some parking spaces,” Tarantolo said. “Some right-of-way is being taken.”

Though initially concerned that delivery trucks turning around in a small loading area could negatively impact some smaller merchants such as Ruffino’s Pizza, Councilman John Collins agreed to support the South Street plan.

“As long as both property owners are in the loop on this, I won’t try to invent problems,” Collins said.

With the closure of Wall Street to Route 36, DOT plans to construct a new road to connect the two-lane thoroughfare to Route 35 northbound and ultimately provide access to Route 36 eastbound, Tarantolo said.

The as yet unnamed new road, would be adjacent to White Ridge Cemetery and included as part of DOT’s overall modification of the Route 35/36 interchange, he continued.

Regardless of the new road, some council members expressed doubt that dead-ending Wall Street to prohibit further access to Route 36 would be effective, or for that matter safe.

The notion of cutting off Wall Street just beyond an entrance to Pathmark from that county road concerned Councilwoman Joyce Englehart and Councilman Roy Eisen.

Motorists headed north on Wall Street would cut through the Pathmark lot once they hit the cul-de-sac, Eisen predicted.

“People will go through the Pathmark parking lot to get from Wall Street to Route 36,” he said.

Residents living on the northern end of Wall Street and on Parker Road might also take the short cut through the Pathmark lot instead of traveling south to Industrial Way East to get to Route 35, Englehart pointed out.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Englehart said. “You’re cutting off part of the town.”

Before moving forward with the proposed exchange of Wall Street and Industrial Way East, Eatontown’s engineering staff must meet with the county engineer’s office, Borough Attorney Gene Anthony noted.

DOT has begun a federally-funded, preliminary engineering study of the Route 35 and 36 intersection extending to Wyckoff Road according to agency spokesman John Dougarian.

About $1 million in federal funding has been dedicated to the engineering study, Dougarian noted.

The study, slated for completion this fall, is intended to identify existing problems and identify improvements to all of the intersections involved, Dougarian said.

“It is being looked at, it is an active project and it is being addressed,” he said.

It is uncertain at this time how much the project will cost, Dougarian said. However, he indicated that should the construction go according to plan, the improvements could be completed in late 2007.

As part of the improvements, a new egress from Monmouth Mall onto Route 36 is also expected to be completed, Tarantolo has said.