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Phase: Concept Development

Purpose and Need: Reduce congestion, improve air quality, promote economic redevelopment opportunities, improve network connectivity, and improve road safety, especially for pedestrians and cyclists.

Description: Local Concept Development involves engineering analysis of crash history and travel patterns, and consultation with the public, elected officials, and technical experts, to develop and select a cost-effective improvement alternative responsive to the purpose and need.  If a ‘build’ alternative is selected, requirements for subsequent design phases will be identified. 

Background:  In the 1940s and 1950s, Capital Plaza and North Olden Avenue Extension were among the first auto-oriented shopping centers in Mercer County and continue to be an important commercial district serving the Ewing Township and the City of Trenton. The area has been the focus for redevelopment planning for Ewing, Lawrence, and Trenton for more than a decade and has been promoted by Mercer County for decades in a variety of studies and Master Plans. In 2004, the Urban Land Institute released a “Mercer Crossings” panel report that begun a series of projects that looked to improve the heart of Mercer County. It noted an “Absence of a Coordinated Planning Effort” which led the County to step in and work with the surrounding municipalities to look at improvements to the area. At this time, both the Ewing Master Plan and Trenton Master Plan discuss and advocate for the extension of Calhoun Street from its current terminus in Trenton through to Olden Avenue.

Calhoun Street (CR 653) is an Urban Minor Arterial, federal aid highway under County Jurisdiction with one lane in each direction and no shoulders.  The roadway essentially provides a near direct connection between Pennsylvania and the Mercer Crossings. In Trenton, Calhoun Street runs in a straight alignment from the Calhoun Street Bridge to Kirkbride Avenue, then curves, crossing N Willow Street, to merge onto Princeton Avenue at an acute angle, at which point Princeton Avenue begins County jurisdiction (CR 583) northward to the intersection with US 206 in Lawrence.  Vehicular traffic from Trenton northbound is thus concentrated on Princeton Avenue, joining tractor trailers on Calhoun accessing the Waste Management transfer station at Kirkbride.  High traffic volumes and truck turning movements significantly degrade all operations at the intersection with North Olden Avenue (CR 622). 

The intersection of Princeton and North Olden is one of the most congested in Mercer County and presents a chokepoint, both north-south and east-west, for the local and regional transportation network. The nearby Capital Health Regional Medical Center is the only Trauma II Center in the County and this intersection serves as one of its primary routes for emergency personnel and vehicles.

The intersection also presents an obstacle to pedestrians and cyclists in surrounding neighborhoods which have a much higher than average population density. Along Calhoun Street itself, Monument Elementary and Fr. Rocco Park (swimming pool and playing fields) generate in a significant walking population. In 2023, Mercer County Planning Board granted conditional approval for the relocation of the Paul Robeson Charter School which is to be located along Princeton Avenue. This will result in hundreds of new students in a location with an already heavy volume of vehicles and trucks.

 The extension of Calhoun Street through to North Olden Avenue has been on the Mercer County Master Plan since the 1980s and is on Master Plans of both Ewing Township and the City of Trenton.  An Urban Land Institute study proposed a conceptual alignment in 2004 and a DVRPC network analysis in 2011 demonstrated that this alignment would reduce congestion and improve safety at several nearby intersections.

Proposal:

The CD project would develop a concept for the alignment and layout of a new County Roadway that would continue from the existing Calhoun Street diversion to the new proposed roundabout at Capital Plaza on Olden Ave. This new public roadway would be incorporate two 11’ travel lanes, one 13’ center turn lane or dedicated left turn lane as needed, and include two 6’ bike lanes with 2’ buffers. Minimum 6’ wide sidewalk along the roadway will also be required to accommodate pedestrians walking between residential areas on Calhoun Street to the commercial areas along Olden. In a 2008 traffic study performed by DVRPC, the Projected ADT of the Calhoun Street Extension would be roughly 5,700 vehicles. ADTs for Olden Ave between Princeton and Arctic are currently approximately 23,000 vehicles. Key benefits from that study indicated significant capacity and operational improvements at the Princeton/ Olden intersection, which is one of the most congested in Mercer County.

Ewing Township’s Master Plan and its Olden Avenue Redevelopment Plan (a declared ‘area in need of redevelopment’) call for access and streetscape improvements for the length of this project study area in Ewing, including replacement of signalized intersections with two-lane roundabouts. The City of Trenton also has listed the Calhoun Street Extension in their Master Plan and has the extension listed as a “Trenton 250 Master Plan Action Item”.

Overall, the extension of Calhoun Street would close an important missing network connection and presents opportunities for all-mode safety improvements, network connectivity, and economic (re)development.  With effective public outreach, a Local Concept Development study will assess a feasible alignment and identify a plan for advancing it. The project will also study multimodal facilities and traffic operations along Calhoun Street between Southard Street and Princeton Ave, including the intersections of Calhoun Street with Princeton Ave and Southard Street. 

Additional Resources:

Calhoun Street Extension Fact Sheet