Dyl's Roads & Travels: Bordentown Bypass

Rising Sun Road westbound, heading towards the Bordentown Bypass. Rising Sun is an important connector between US 206, I-295, I-95 / NJ Turnpike (via US 206), and US 130. This road also allows heavy vehicles, and there are many truck stops along Rising Sun Road. However, Rising Sun Road does not have full access to US 130, as the main segment comes to a RIRO (right in, right out) intersection with US 130 NB. Rising Sun Road also does not have full access to I-295, with only an exit from I-295 NB and an entrance to I-295 SB.

This is where Dunns Mill Road comes into play. Parallel to Rising Sun Road, Dunns Mill Road also connects US 206 and US 130. Dunns Mill has traffic signals and full access at both US 206 and US 130 (with jughandles). There is even a connector between Dunns Mill and Rising Sun called Hedding Road. Sounds good? Well... Dunns Mill Road and Hedding Road have truck bans. So only cars get full freedom of movement to access all the major roads. Yet trucks need access to the truck stops and industrial areas from the major roads and vice versa.

This is where the Bordentown Bypass comes into play. A recent construction, the Bordentown Bypass connects Rising Sun Road and Dunns Mill Road closer to US 130 while also avoiding residential neighborhoods. This allows trucks to use the full intersection at Dunns Mill Road while avoiding residential neighborhoods, allowing full freedom of access between the truck stops and the major roads.

To prevent trucks from illegally using certain roads, truck routes are explicitly designated by both signage and pavement markings, such as the TRUCK ROUTE markings on Rising Sun Road westbound, pictured here.

The Bordentown Bypass at Rising Sun Road. Why did Bordentown Township fumble this by forgetting to put a break in the double yellow line and bend the westbound outer stripes to meet the Bordentown Bypass? This makes the intersection completely invisible and is a major problem.