Nearly a year after the Clarksville Road Bridge closed in West Windsor, township officials are urging Amtrak and the New Jersey Department of Transportation to speed up repairs as commuters face longer travel times and local businesses struggle to stay afloat. The bridge was shut down last November after an inspection found severe corrosion and other structural issues. Mayor Hemanth Marathe says the township has been working with NJ DOT and Amtrak to get the bridge reopened, but construction is still awaiting final approval from Amtrak. NJ DOT has completed the bridge design and prepared steel components needed to support the structure, according to the mayor. However, he says Amtrak needs to approve safety reviews and scheduling track outages along the Northeast Corridor to allow crews to work safely. The mayor says the township was previously told one lane could reopen by December, but he is concerned that timeline may not be met. The closure has created traffic backups on surrounding roads and added as much as 25 minutes to some residents’ commutes. Marathe also raised concerns about emergency response times, saying police and fire crews could take 25 to 30 minutes to reach parts of town on the other side of the bridge. Local businesses have also been hit hard, with some owners reporting revenue losses of nearly 60% and warning they could be forced to close. The mayor says the uncertainty makes it difficult for small businesses to plan financially.

"We are already bankrupt at this moment of time. I'm not able to pay the rent. Nobody is able to pay the rent. We are not able to generate enough to pay the rent," one business owner said. The county has provided $10,000 in assistance to each affected business, and the township has reduced property taxes. Marathe is now calling on the governor and state legislators to provide additional financial assistance to help businesses survive until the bridge reopens. He is also urging Amtrak and NJ DOT to establish a clearer timeline and consider longer track outages that could allow crews to complete repairs more quickly.

Both Amtrak and the Governor's office referred News 12 to NJ DOT for comment on the matter. In a statement NJ DOT said: NJDOT understands the importance of this project and is making every effort to move it forward as quickly and as safely as possible. NJDOT has been working collaboratively with Amtrak to schedule the necessary rail outages to provide safe access. The Department has worked proactively in developing pre-fabricated steel components so that work on the bridge substructure can begin immediately once access to the railway is granted. We are making every effort to prioritize and expedite this work and have actively briefed the town’s local officials every step of the way. For now, there is no confirmed date for construction to begin, leaving residents, commuters and business owners waiting for answers.