Reopen the Clarksville Road Bridge

03/14/2026

Please share this with friends and ask them to share as well. We have 1986 signatures but need more!!! Our Mayor and Council have been working daily to get answers and gain attention to this neglected burden for our town.

514 signatures are still needed! Repair the Clarksville Road Amtrak Bridge immediately

03/14/2026

Update!

Acting Commissioner Jain appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today and was unanimously approved! She outlined her vision for leading the NJDOT, which is shaped by more than three decades as a civil and environmental engineer. Her experience delivering complex infrastructure and transportation programs informs her approach— a focus on collaboration, practical problem solving, and disciplined project delivery.

02/12/2026

Progress

02/12/2026

State of Emergency

A call for support to ask Governor Mickie Sherrill to declare a State of Emergency for the closure of the Clarksville Bridge.

On Monday, February 9, 2026, the West Windsor Township Council held a discussion on how to move forward on the Clarksville Bridge situation at our regular meeting. The consensus of the Council was that a solution would not move quickly enough without a NJ State of Emergency. We agreed we would prepare a resolution from the Mayor and Council for the next meeting, as well as work with various levels of government to make this happen.

On Tuesday evening, February 10, Council President Sonia Gawas and Council Vice President Andrea Mandel went to the meeting of the Mercer County Commissioners in Trenton and presented our case. The Commissioners agreed strongly to consider joining us in a resolution. County Executive Dan Benson strongly supported the State of Emergency and agreed to write directly to the Governor.

Why a State of Emergency?

* The bridge closing has caused a public safety crisis for the region, with increased emergency response times for fire, police, EMS and hazmat.
*Economic crisis - Area businesses, particularly at Village Square have lost 50% of revenue, and current aid programs are very limited. Some may not be able to stay in business without help.
*The 15000 vehicles per day that used Clarksville are now flooding alternate routes, affecting traffic across West Windsor and the region.
* It has been over 3 months, and red tape for various agencies involved has prevented quick resolution or even a timeline.

How will a State of Emergency Help?

*Eliminates red tape within state agencies and elevates the issue to get cooperation from Amtrak
*Governor can allow the State EDA to provide aid to local businesses not currently allowed under law.
*Opens up the possibility of Federal Disaster relief.
Precedent - The Route 80 Sinkhole Problem
In 2025, Governor Murphy declared a State of Emergency (Executive Order 383) for a similar case of disruption of a major road. The result was quick action to fix the infrastructure problem, money for impacted businesses, and federal aid.

Please write your state and federal representatives to support this effort!

02/09/2026

Thank you Channel 12 for covering this story. Hopefully this will bring more awareness to the urgency of this situation

BRIDGE CLOSURE: A key bridge for local business in West Windsor has been closed more than three months, and local officials are calling for immediate action as repair delays cause headaches for residents.

https://bit.ly/4roKLBr

02/08/2026

Thank you Paul Ligeti for putting this wonderful history of the bridge together! I can still hear the sound of hitting those wooden planks as we drove over the bridge.

The continued closure of the Clarksville Road railroad bridge since November, due to severe corrosion of some beams has significantly disrupted residents, emergency services, and businesses. With such a vital structure shuttered for now, here’s a brief look at its history.

In the late 1800s, West Windsor had no bridge over the train tracks. Instead, all road crossings were at-grade, which grew more dangerous as traffic increased. So, in 1896, the railroad's owners, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company (PRR), built "Stouts bridge" (at Clarksville/Meadow Road) and "Jessup's bridge" (North Post/Alexander), named after the families that lived there.

The Clarksville bridge was narrow with a 10-ton weight limit. The approaches' guardrails were crude wire ropes, the sidewalls were wooden, and the driving surface was also made of wood planking - not asphalt or concrete. This image is a photo from a 1975 newspaper article (admittedly colorized/restored a bit with AI, but only a bit).

The bridge was, of course, soon widely used, but over the next eighty years, fell into disrepair. In 1975, some County freeholders lambasted the bridge as "appallingly dangerous," after an inspection revealed that the "approaches [were] rotting in some places ... the wooden side wall was in shambles and deck planking was loose." While Penn Central (PRR’s successor) offered to replace the planking on the bridge span, they denied responsibility for the approaches, instead asserting Mercer County should improve them because it was a County road. The County disagreed. The bridge was finally reconstructed in 1983, with an asphalt road surface, metal guardrails on the approaches, and concrete parapets and metal side walls on the bridge span.

Around 2010/2011, the western approach was reconfigured to add a jughandle and traffic light. And in 2022, the NJ Dep’t of Transportation presented a plan for reconstructing the bridge further southeast (starting in 2027), with an added shoulder and a multi-use path.

With Amtrak still to approve some inspection permits, much remains up in the air. We’re keeping an eye on developments to document modern history as we speak.

02/07/2026

From Councilwoman Andrea Sue Mandell:

NEWS 12 Visits Village Square!

Thank you to News 12 New Jersey and reporter Jill Croce for coming to visit the businesses at Village Square Shopping Center today on Clarksville Road! Thank you to all the business owners that were able to come out.

They heard from the businesses about the losses they are suffering from the ongoing closure of the Clarksville Bridge, and Mayor Marathe about the difficulties of the state, county and town are having working with Amtrak to get a schedule so the bridge can be reopened or replaced.

We will post when we learn when the segment will be broadcast.

— with Joe Charles and 4 others.