West Windsor mayor urges amtrak, NJ DOT to expedite Clarksville Road Bridge repairs

The major bridge in West Windsor has been closed for nearly a year, frustrating commuters and hurting businesses. Local leaders want Amtrak to clear the way for repairs and state officials to step in. News 12's Jennifer Portoriel with the story. Thousands of drivers cross the Clarksville Road Bridge every day until it closed last November after an inspection found serious safety issues. There's beams that are rusted out, falling apart. There's loose metal on it. The supports are also extremely rusty and corroded. But nearly a year later, the bridge remains shut down and township leaders are calling on Amtrak and NJDOT to pick up the pace. This needs to be fixed ASAP. The mayor says the township was told one lane could reopen by December, but that deadline now seems unlikely. He says construction is still waiting on Amtrak approvals, including safety reviews and scheduled track outages along the Northeast Corridor where the bridge sits. And the longer it stays closed, the bigger the impact on the community. There's traffic created all around town. Other places, other roads in town are now getting clogged with traffic, which is causing more accidents. This is serious. If I don't do this, it would really be a tragedy. It would literally take them 25, 30 minutes. The closure has also taken a toll on local businesses. Some owners tell me they have lost almost 60% of their revenue. They say the future remains uncertain and some are even considering shutting down. We are already bankrupt. At this moment of time, I'm not able to pay the rent. The township is now calling on the governor to intervene, including declaring state of emergency and providing financial help. And if the governor needs to push Amtrak and NJDOT or anybody else or federal senators, then I'm calling upon the governor to step up and do that. For now, there is no confirmed timeline for construction to begin, leaving residents, commuters and businesses waiting for answers. In West Windsor, Jennifer Puerto Real, News 12, New Jersey.