Controversial padlocked access road at Atlantic County's Airport Circle is opened by South Jersey Economic Development District

The South Jersey Economic Development District, after weeks of public disagreement with Atlantic County over the blocked access road running through the unbuilt NextGen Aviation Research and Technology Park, opened the roadway on Tuesday.

The road was opened at 5 p.m. following a vote of the district’s executive committee, SJEDD Executive Director Gordon Dahl said.

Atlantic County maintains the newly opened road will help ease traffic congestion at the Airport Circle.

Dahl had closed the road in December – without a board vote – citing safety and design concerns. Last week, Atlantic County demanded that the district return the county’s $2.5 million contribution to the project if the road was not going to be accessible by the public.

County Executive Dennis Levinson said that demand will be dropped.

“All of the problems that occurred there were certainly avoidable. It’s a shame the public had to go through this. They had to succumb to pressure,” Levinson said. “I’ve never dealt with an agency like this in all the years I’ve been in politics.”

 http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com