Phase: Local Concept Development

Description: For decades, Route 29 has acted as a barrier to the public for access to the Delaware River. This project will study the potential transformation of the freeway to an urban boulevard, which would improve traffic safety and change the area from a heavily automobile based environment to a connected district for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. By providing access to the waterfront, people would be more inclined to make use of the open space and engage in recreational activities. Converting parking areas into developable parcels could promote economic development and spur the revitalization of the downtown. Open spaces, which provide opportunities for landscaping, stormwater management, and resilient practices, would further promote the conversion and offer significant benefits to the community and protection of the City of Trenton.

Background: Like many other cities, Trenton has been looking to reclaim its waterfront that was disconnected from the city with the construction of the Route 29 Freeway in the 1950s. This notion has been around for decades and was initiated with the formation of the Capital City Redevelopment Corporation (CCRC) in 1988. The CCRC’s mission was to revitalize the downtown Trenton area that has experienced decades of decline. As part of this revitalization, the CCRC and City of Trenton adopted a redevelopment plan that called for the conversion of the Route 29 Freeway to an urban boulevard.

In 2005 the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) embarked on a study to convert the Route 29 freeway to an urban boulevard in compliance with the CCRC vision. All the concepts converted the government parking areas into an urban street grid system that ties into the existing adjacent grid system to the east and creates developable parcels providing opportunities for mixed use development (residential, retail and office). Two base alternatives were developed and each alternative converted Route 29 to an urban boulevard with two lanes in each direction and parking lanes, a center turn lane, signalized intersections, sidewalks, and streetscape and landscaping features. One alternative maintained the Route 29 boulevard in its current location along the Delaware River with minor shift to the east to provide room for a riverfront park where no park exists today. The other alternative moved the Route 29 boulevard inland away from the Delaware River, thereby providing more space for a larger riverfront park with a less traveled local street adjacent to the park and more choice riverfront developable parcels, which was deemed to be the more desirable alternative.

After the Phase 1 Study, in 2009 NJDOT further advanced the study and performed a Feasibility Assessment. The FA included a more in-depth traffic, environmental, engineering, and economic analysis along with continued public outreach. The conclusion of the FA confirmed that the Inland Alternative recommended in the Phase 1 Study was the Preferred Alternative.

Proposal: The goal of this Local Concept Development Study (LCD) is to develop a well-defined and justified Purpose and Need Statement to evaluate whether (1) the concept developed in the 2005 and 2009 Studies remains valid for current standards and goals and will support the advancement of the project to the Local Preliminary Engineering Phase, or (2) requires refinement or an alternative concept(s) to satisfy resiliency and other goals, or (3) will lead to a “No-Build” alternative resulting in the termination of the project.

This study will include community outreach, data collection, evaluation of the previous Concept Development (CD) and Feasibility Assessment (FA) as a basis for this LCD. As warranted, this study will include the development of prudent and feasible conceptual alternatives. The study will also include determination of the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) classification, preparation of a Concept Development Report (CDR), and a Preliminary Engineering (PE) Scope Statement. In reaching its conclusion, the CDR, using the data from the previous CD and FA reports as much as reasonably possible, should address the project’s feasibility not only in terms of engineering, but also floodplain management, resiliency, riverfront access, and the economic development underpinning for the relocation and/or conversion of Route 29.

Anticipated Project Schedule: It is anticipated that the Local Concept Development phase of this project will be substantially complete within 18-months of its commencement.  Project timeline includes a six-month extension for review and finalization. The first Public Information Center Meeting is anticipated to be held in May 2025. The second Public Information Center Meeting, where the project alternatives are introduced and the Preliminary Preferred Alternative is selected, is anticipated to occur in the late 2025.

Benefits and Burdens- Case Studies in Transportation Equity in the Philadelphia Region

Capital City Renaissance Plan (2021)

Capital City Riverfront Brochure

Capital City Riverfront Plan Framework

Case for Capital City Riverfront

Route 29 Boulevard Feasibility Assessment Volume I (2009)

Route 29 Boulevard Feasibility Assessment Volume II (2009)

Route 29 Boulevard Study Phase 1 (June 2005)

Trenton Master Plan Chapter 7