Carteret, NJ – On Wednesday December 30th, Mayor Dan Reiman and the Borough Council were joined by local business leaders in welcoming a new Shell station to 6600 Industrial Highway. According to Mayor Reiman, the Shell station and Food Mart are the first retail commercial businesses to open on Industrial Avenue in more than 20 years.
The formerly vacant property where the business resides, on the corner of Peter Sica Industrial Highway and Randolph Street, hosted a 3 acre lumberyard. The remaining acreage adjacent to Shell was developed with a townhome development according to Carteret’s Office of Construction.
The Carteret Office of Economic Development reports suggest that the developer, DNDEV, LLC, will have invested close to $1.2 million in the redevelopment project, which will be the only such fuel stop offering diesel fuel and accessible to truck traffic east of the N.J. Turnpike in Carteret. With approximately 55,000 cars and trucks utilizing Interchange 12 and passing through Carteret daily, the new Shell station should have plenty of customers.
More significantly, it represents a major commercial improvement for the industrial highway, according to Borough officials;
“The establishment of this facility means more than meets the eye,” Mayor Reiman stated. “It represents years of thinking and re-planning our business districts and infrastructure, and the improvement and expansion of the Industrial Highway Light Industrial area. ”
In December 2007, an extension to Industrial Avenue providing a connection to Woodbridge was completed. The 1.4 mile extension was negotiated and approved under the Reiman administration with Woodbridge Township as part of the Port Reading Industrial Park Redevelopment project in May of 2004. As part of the project Carteret received a Federal TEA-21 Grant in the amount of $2.0M for the construction of various upgrades and improvements along the roadway in Carteret.
Last month, Mayor Reiman announced that a $1.1 million construction contract for Industrial Avenue improvements had been awarded for two intersections along Industrial Highway, with construction slated for completed by the fall of 2010. Middlesex County and the Borough have agreed to jointly fund improvements at the Roosevelt Avenue intersections along the Peter J. Sica Memorial Highway (Industrial Highway), which will include improvements to these two major intersections.
Industrial Highway is currently a municipal roadway and is scheduled to be taken over by the county upon the conclusion of the improvements, while Roosevelt Avenue is currently a county owned roadway.
“The Peter Sica Memorial Highway represents the industrial gateway to Carteret” Mayor Reiman stated. “With the incredible amount of economic growth we’ve experienced, and the completion of the road’s extension to Woodbridge, Industrial Highway has become the lifeline of many industrial parks and commercial districts. This new business is indicative of a bright future for our most prominent industrial artery.”
Mayor Reiman added that a major focus of his administration has been to divert truck traffic from residential areas to the town’s main arteries. Approximately 55,000 cars and trucks pass through Carteret daily, according to Reiman. Improvements such as those to Industrial Highway facilitate the processes through which trucks can be confined to industrial areas.
