By Carmen Cusido
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — Beth Kerr is a lifelong Democrat who once supported Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, but she said she will vote for Jonathan Savage, the Republican candidate for the county executive office, because of his views on Jacobs Creek Bridge.
Kerr, who has led efforts to protect the existing bridge on Bear Tavern Road, drew applause from the more than two dozen residents gathered at the bridge yesterday when she told Savage at his press conference: “I hope you continue to listen to the people,” Kerr said, adding that for two years since the county closed the bridge, she and other residents have felt Hughes hasn’t listened to them.
The Jacobs Creek Bridge site, which features a late 19th century iron bridge, is [thought to be] the site where Gen. George Washington led his troops across the creek en route to the Battle of Trenton in 1776.
Hughes and the county freeholder board are moving ahead with a bridge replacement and road realignment project that, opponents say, would cut into the historic vista. In May, the Jacobs Creek bridge site in Hopewell Township and the Petty’s Run archeological dig near the capital were named to Preservation New Jersey’s list of 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in New Jersey.
[It is estimated that George Washington crossed tens of thousands of creeks throughout the thirteen colonies and Canada during his tenure as General. Indeed, there is no definitive evidence that Washington crossed Jacobs Creek in the location of the modern Jacobs Creek Bridge on his way to the Battle of Trenton. ED]
“Due to a lack of leadership and indecision, the current county executive has kept the current bridge closed for almost two years, hurting local businesses and increasing traffic in neighborhoods along the detour route,” Savage said yesterday.
The county has proposed moving the bridge to a park and replacing it with a new structure, but some township residents and officials have said the township should take ownership of the bridge so it can be preserved and upgraded.
“The county purchased the right of way to accommodate the new bridge alignment in 1966, when Brian Hughes was 10 years old. In 2009 the state of New Jersey’s bridge inspection consultant gave the bridge the worst sufficiency rating in the entire County,” said Elizabeth Maher Muoio, the county’s Democratic chair, in an e-mail message. She added that there have been numerous public meetings and hearings held on this subject over the several decades.
Savage said the more than $700,000 spent for the design project could be spent on other structurally deficient bridges in the county.
Yesterday’s press conference at the bridge kicked off a Summer Leadership Tour that Savage, a former Ewing school board member, is planning. He will visit seven other places throughout the county that have yet to be determined.
Savage said he is running for county executive because he wants to work to create jobs and reduce county debt and taxes.
An unaffiliated voter in past years, Savage registered as a Republican this year. He has described himself as a fiscal conservative and a political centrist. He said he has heard residents say taxes are too high and jobs aren’t being created.
Recent Comments