In a nutshell: All trucks will head south on S Main Street from McKeen Street. Westbound will likely take Center Street, while eastbound will likely continue on S Main towards Pohatcong.

If the NJDOT approves the town’s request, there’ll be no thorough travel for trucks between Union Square and McKeen St.

 

Here are the details: Truck routes in anticipation of a warehouse on Howard Street

Phillipsburg says the town is not pursuing Center Street as a truck route. Yet, Lopatcong, after rejecting it as an option has more recently approved the truck route via Center Street.

Center Street is still part of the town’s application to NJDOT.

 

Of course, Center Street is very steep for trucks to be going up and down and there’s also a culvert at the bottom forcing many trucks to be diverted to Abbott Street. It’s hard to imagine tractor-trailers turning from Center Street onto Abbot or from S. Main St. onto Abbot. (All westbound tractor-trailers traffic will very likely take Center Street.)

 

Phillipsburg has also applied to NJDOT to allow the prohibition of trucks -except for local delivery- between McKeen Street and Union Square at the Free bridge. Center Street will be the quickest route for westbound traffic.

 

Under this scenario, all trucks will take Center Street or go south towards Pohatcong and New Brunswick Ave. (St James to the left is not a truck route).

 

If Center Street is somehow excluded then all trucks will take this route to Pohatcong.

The town’s truck route application to NJDOT attempts to address a town-wide concern about trucks from the proposed Peron warehouse on Howard Street further invading Phillipsburg

The Howard Street warehouse was originally approved for 510,000 ft.². The application included taking part of Delaware River Park.

 

Citizens and merchants joined together and hired an attorney. The case has been heard in court and we are waiting for the decision.

 

Peron has proposed several scaled-back versions of the Howard Street warehouse and some on Council have tried to circumvent the lawsuit by passing the scaled-back version.

We remain opposed to the changes including one that would shrink the footprint but raise the roof to 65 feet.

 

It is extremely important that you communicate with your elected officials about the unwanted impacts of more tractor-trailers in town.

 

Mike King