Freeholders may take over road

WEST DEPTFORD A small township roadway whose name may be seen as absolutely appropriate or alarmingly ironic could find itself under changing guardianship.

Paradise Road, whose craterlike surface has irritated some who work along it, will be considered by freeholders Wednesday for county ownership and operation. The roadway leads from Crown Point Road to a new Mantua Creek bridge built to access a planned port in Paulsboro, which has been billed as a massive economic development in the county.

Although the township has expressed interest in having the county taking the road because it will be the connecting route for truck traffic moving from I-295 to the port, the township had not been notified of the resolution, Brandon Umba, West Deptford's acting administrator, said Monday. The proposal states that it would become effective following West Deptford committee's formal approval.

If the county does accept the road, West Deptford would in return gain ownership of a portion of nearby Friars Boulevard, according to the submitted resolution. Debra Sellitto, county spokeswoman, said the county often facilitates such exchanges.

Still, Umba said that the township had not yet assessed the boulevard, and that the Gloucester County Improvement Authority's plan to create the bridge and the new port thoroughfare suggests that Paradise Road should be in county hands regardless of an equal swap. - Angelo Fichera