Monroe Study Shows 1,200 Trucks and Tractor-Trailers Each Day on Local Roads from Cranbury Warehouses
Mayor Tamburro Questions Status of Stalled Cranbury "Liberty Way Bypass Road" - Vows to Take Action
MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. – July 25, 2019 – A municipal study shows more than 1,200 trucks each day travelling along Cranbury Half Acre Road and Cranbury Station Road, prompting Monroe Mayor Gerald W. Tamburro to ask his professional staff to review the study and make recommendations.

A weekday study was conducted in June and July along the two roads, with the Monroe Police Department and the municipal engineer tracking the volume of tractor trailers heading to and from Cranbury.

“Our professionals noted a steady stream of tractor trailers on those two roads, which is alarming because Monroe doesn’t have any warehouses on those roads,” Mayor Tamburro said. “We are left to conclude that all of this traffic on these local streets is heading to Cranbury, which has a number of warehouses on our border and is planning to build even more. I find this troubling for our residents and it is unacceptable.”

Monroe Police Chief Michael Biennas submitted the traffic counts during the 11-hour review in July.
Connect with Monroe
Click below to learn more about these Township services
On July 8, on Cranbury Station Road, there were 58 tractor trailers heading eastbound and 101 tractor trailers heading westbound, back and forth into Cranbury. Police moved to Cranbury Half Acre Road on July 9, counting 66 tractor trailers heading east into Monroe and another 88 tractor trailers heading west. All told, 313 tractor trailers were counted during this period alone. The study was completed between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. 

The municipal engineering office set up a more comprehensive study in June to count total truck traffic.  

Center State Engineering, the municipal engineer, reported 1,475 trucks on Cranbury Station Road during the two-day weekday study, heading both eastbound and westbound through Monroe. Meanwhile, on Cranbury Half Acre Road, there were 917 trucks travelling through Monroe via access points in Cranbury. That is an average of about 1,200 trucks a day on the two roads.

Monroe Township residents continually express concern about the increasing tractor trailer traffic from Cranbury warehouses, questioning why these tractor trailers aren’t directed to Liberty Way or Route 130, as outlined in the Cranbury Master Plan.  

Monroe officials are questioning why Cranbury officials never completed their proposed two-mile “Liberty Way Bypass,” a road on Cranbury’s master plan that would have diverted tractor trailers directly to Interchange 8A of the New Jersey Turnpike. 

Because this traffic solution was never completed, a large amount of this Cranbury-based truck traffic now steadily traverses Monroe’s residential neighborhoods each day to the ongoing concern of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
Traffic from Cranbury warehouses and distribution parks, like this site on Half Acre Rd., continue to clog Monroe roads. A proposed bypass to the New Jersey Turnpike has stalled despite support in both townships. (Photo: NJDEP)
At the request of the former Cranbury mayor, in March 2015 the Monroe Planning Board adopted a resolution in support of the proposed bypass, which was to include a bridge over the Cranbury Brook. 

Monroe officials expressed appreciation to Cranbury, saying the bypass sends a “positive message” to neighboring communities about the growing traffic problems from the Cranbury warehouses. South Brunswick approved a similar resolution on July 22, 2014, saying the bypass would remove 14,000 vehicles from Route 130, providing “much relief.” At the time, the chair of the Cranbury Planning Board called the two-mile Liberty Way a “no brainer.”

That plan was also enthusiastically promoted by former Cranbury Mayor Susan Goetz, and appeared to be funded in cooperation with Cranbury-based developers. 

“At the time, Cranbury clearly recognized that its truck traffic is a regional problem,” Mayor Tamburro said. “But, in a few short years, and with a new mayor now in charge, suddenly any of the truck traffic generated by Cranbury is no longer their problem. That is why we need to take strong and deliberate action. We really have no choice.”
All media inquiries may be directed to the Monroe Township’s Public Information Officer Stacey Kennedy at 732-521-4400 or skennedy@monroetwp.com .
Learn more about Monroe Township: