May
2002
From
the Editor: A
commuter begins to comprehend the Route 29 tunnel
Like many others, I was baffled by the announcement that the new
Route 29 tunnel would not be open to truck traffic. If it had
not been built as an express route for the trucks that clog Cass
Street on the way between Interstate 195 and Route 1, just why
had it been constructed?
Driving through the tunnel only compounded my confusion. First
of all, on the southbound side it's not even a tunnel; the western
wall of the roadway is open to the Delaware River. As you make
your way through, you can't help but ask yourself, What the heck
is above me and why?
It seemed to me to have been a tremendous waste of money.
But
the next thing I knew, I found myself traveling through the tunnel
on my way into the downtown, rather than wrestling with traffic
on Route 129. Suddenly, a trip that could take up to 45 minutes
at rush hour never lasted more than 25. I went from a tunnel basher
to a tunnel booster faster than you can say Market and Broad,
which is where I always got hung up on my way through town.
And why would I want trucks on my new golden route, anyway? As
far as I'm concerned the eighteen-wheelers on their way through
should basically be banned from the city. There's really no reason
they can't take I-195 to I-295 and on their merry way. Those are
fine roads. So what do you say we get that done and move on?
Alas, my advantage may be wearing away already, even if trucks
never traverse Trenton's most controversial mile. Rush hour has
begun to see an increase in tunnel traffic, I suppose as a result
of more commuters giving the new route a whirl. The traffic light
at Waterfront Park sees a backup that is beginning to extend into
the tunnel. Will the backup grow? I can't say. I can guess that
it will.
At any rate, I do feel sorry for those residents who had their
views of the river blocked by the tunnel, and whose homes suffered
damage-and value reduction-as a result of the construction.
But in this mostly selfish world, I'd have to say that their loss
is my gain. Those twenty minutes I've picked up are even more
precious on my way home. Do I feel guilty picking them up at someone
else's expense? Yes I do. Would I give them back? Uh, no.
Yeah.
I love the tunnel.
-Joe
Emanski
