The cost of Amazon order: Traffic

ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. -

Business is booming inside Amazon's warehouse in New Jersey, but residents say the holiday rush has led to gridlock on nearby roads.

Traffic grinds to a halt for miles when the fulfillment center's more than 4,000 employees are going in and out of the facility during rush hour, NJ.com reported.

"This could be solved if they would move the shifts, but they've got it right in the middle of rush hour when people are trying to go to work or come home," said resident Robert Lerman, who said it can take up to 40 minutes to drive less than a mile. "The quality of life has been destroyed."

Amazon spokesman Aaron Toso said the company has invested more than $300,000 for a bus route that brings 10 percent of its employees directly there from Trenton and has started another shuttle service from Trenton. He said that the company also hires five off-duty police officers during each shift to assist with traffic flow.

"We are committed to continue working with the mayor and local authorities to mitigate these issues through our peak season," Toso said.

Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried threatened to sue yesterday after Amazon sent a public-affairs staffer to a meeting to discuss solutions to the traffic that's clogged area roads. Fried said the meeting was supposed to include operations officials.

"We have a system that was built for a number of cars, and it's twice as many cars," Fried told NJ.com. "It wasn't built to handle that much volume."

Fried said he hopes Amazon can change or stagger shifts.