City, County, and State Take First Major Step Toward Visionary Planning Project
“I’m so thankful to Governor Phil Murphy, State Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio, and Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti for supporting federal funding for the Route 29 realignment project,” said Gusciora. “We are also grateful to our county partners, including County Executive Brian M. Hughes and Deputy Administrator Aaron T. Watson, for their willingness to manage this visionary project, which we look forward to further collaborating on. My administration is committed to fixing past mistakes in urban planning that cut off the City’s access to the waterfront along the Delaware River. It’s a project that we have long prioritized for economic development opportunities in Trenton.”
Route 29 was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s as a limited access, high-speed highway despite the opposition of residents, destroying a major riverfront park. The highway construction, coupled with a federally funded urban renewal project, and the city’s riverfront, setting the stage for long-term population decline in Trenton. For several decades, community members have expressed and documented the desire to reconnect to the river, reestablish a riverfront community and park, and convert NJ Route 29 to a boulevard.
In April, Mayor W. Reed Gusciora, along with Congresswoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman and Mercer County Deputy Administrator for Transportation and Infrastructure Aaron T. Watson, met with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at the Trenton-Mercer Airport to discuss Route 29 Boulevard and the City’s other high-priority projects.
“This planning grant will enable us to study the redesign of Route 29 so that the City can capture more waterfront for development,” said Gusciora. “It will be a monumental game changer for Trenton’s economic future.”
The Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBGP) provides flexible funding to states and localities for projects to preserve and improve the conditions and performance on any Federal-aid highway, bridge, and tunnel projects. In this case, funds are allocated to consider a highway design that incorporates multimodal access to the river, economic development opportunities, and changes to river flood conditions and stormwater management regulations.
“When Route 29 was built, one of the most prominent parks in the city was demolished and our access to the waterfront was diminished,” concluded Gusciora. “Today, we start back on the road to correct mistakes of the past.”