Department of Transportation


New Jersey Future In Transportation

Route 29 Study

Mercer County

Background

Route 29 photo
Route 29 as it exists today
Route 29 in Trenton, New Jersey is a limited access, high-speed urban freeway that currently cuts off the waterfront to the downtown area. Traffic congestion and motorists traveling at excessive speeds on Route 29 have led to a high number of accidents for this section of roadway. The conversion of Route 29 from an urban freeway to an urban boulevard may eliminate a number of these safety concerns and improve the integration of the road with the surrounding urban environment by lowering the speed limit, installing traffic signals, providing pedestrian crosswalks, connecting side streets and enhancing access to the waterfront.

Project description

Preferred alternative concept
Preferred alternative concept
for Route 29 Boulevard,
north of Market Street -
landscaped median is sized
to provide space for future
light rail transit line.
A feasibility study of the southern section of Route 29 Boulevard between the Richey Place/Calhoun Street interchange and the Cass Street intersection was initiated by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) in 2007 as part of a shared vision among state and local entities to revitalize downtown Trenton and reconnect the city to its waterfront. The feasibility assessment report, completed in February 2009 evaluated the potential replacement of the existing freeway with an urban boulevard that would easily blend in with the city's surrounding context.

The NJDOT strived to work collectively with the Capital City Redevelopment Corporation (CCRC), City of Trenton and other stakeholders in evaluating and developing a design alternative for Route 29 that would best achieve the wide variety of goals and objectives of its many stakeholders. These goals included:

- Maximizing safe physical and visual connections between the community and the Delaware Riverfront.
- Strengthening established neighborhoods and the capital district.
- Facilitating redevelopment of underutilized land within the capital district.
- Creating a context sensitive network of streets and open spaces.
- Providing safe and convenient modal choices to encourage the use of transit, cycling and walking.
- Accommodating motorists in a safe manner at reduced speeds.

The Route After consultation with key stakeholders and other community members, the Route 29 Inland Alternative was selected as the preferred alternative. Urban design guidelines and engineering/design improvement details for the preferred alternative are described in the study document. A joint coordination committee co-led by the City of Trenton and the CCRC will be formed to move the project forward from the study phase to reality.

Project status
29 Feasibility Assessment Report was completed in February 2009 along with the Trenton and CCRC marketing study. Land use decisions by prospective developers in conjunction with city planners will be the key factor in determining the extent of future transportation improvements for
Route 29.

NJFITness goals advanced by the Route 29 Study are rated on a scale of one to three stars, with three stars indicating the most strongly pursued:

The NJFIT tools that are most applicable to this project are starred:



Last updated date: October 7, 2019 10:45 AM