$3.7M repair project will improve road, calm traffic in Cherry Hill

Officials hope to slow traffic in $3.7M repair project in Cherry Hill

FOX 29's Bruce Gordon has the latest on the project.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. - A stretch of roadway in Cherry Hill is getting a major makeover with the goal of calming traffic.

The 2-mile stretch of Chapel Avenue between Haddonfield Road and Kingshighway is notorious in Cherry Hill. Stacy Covelli and her husband have been complaining about a nasty pothole out front of their place for months.

“I think all the heavy load of construction vehicles and the equipment have really broken down the road," she told FOX 29's Bruce Gordon.

Chapel is a busy stretch. It's home to schools, places of worship and a lot of homes. The speed limit here is 25 mph, but those who drive this stretch scoff at that idea.

“The 25 is just there for a sign, but you can’t do it safely because people climb up your tail," Don Butler.

Finally, some good news from Camden County with a $3.7 million project to repair Chapel and slow down the traffic. In addition to repaving the 2-mile stretch, road crews will be installing so-called traffic “calming” devices, widened, landscaped medians that tighten the space on either side of the roadway to make drivers feel they need to slow down.

“It closes that perception of a highway into again a residential street, so it’s exactly right. It's an optical illusion to a large degree," Camden County spokesperson Dan Keashen said.

The project is set to begin in late September.