What's the holdup with the QuickChek and Aldi proposed for Route 202?

BRANCHBURG – The township Planning Board may not make a decision until May at the earliest whether QuickChek may build a store and gas station at the corner of Route 202 and Old York Road.

Once the Board votes on the QuickChek application, it will then consider a proposal to build an Aldi supermarket on the property, one of the most prime real estate spots in Somerset County.

Already built on the property across from the township's police headquarters and Old York School is the Cornerstone at Branchburg senior apartments, part of the township's affordable housing plan.

The Board is next scheduled to hear the QuickChek proposal on May 14.

Complicating the plan has been the state Department of Transportation's proposal to improve the intersection of Route 202 and Old York Road.

The widening of Route 202 prompted the proposed QuickChek to move 22 feet further back from the highway to maintain the township's 35-foot setback requirement, Adam Westenberger, QuickChek's project engineer, told the Planning Board on Tuesday.

That's based on the DOT's preliminary concept plans, Westenberger said.

The final design "could be years from now," he said.

"We're making our best guess with what we know," Westenberger said, adding QuickChek has already met with DOT representatives many times to discuss the project.

"The timing is completely out of our hands," said Robert Simon, attorney for QuickChek.

More: Motorists traveling Route 202 in Branchburg will be getting traffic relief

Stuart Kimmel, real estate manager for the convenience store chain headquartered in Readington, told the Board the store and gas station will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The store will employ about 40 to 50 people, with 30 to 40 new jobs created, he said.

There is an average of eight to 10 workers on a shift, with only three on the midnight shift, two inside the store and one on the gas pumps, he added.

The store expects to receive seven to eight gas deliveries a week, which are triggered by a computer gauging the level of the tanks.

The store will also have two electric charging spaces.

Simon said the Board could wrap up the case at the May meeting, with Westenberger testifying about more changes suggested by the township and QuickChek's planner.

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Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: QuickChek, Aldi proposed in Branchburg NJ delayed by traffic project