State: We’re Working With Developer on Brick Wawa Left-Turn Ban

Vehicles jockey for position making turns into and out of the Wawa on Route 88 in Brick, Nov. 2021. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Last week, Shorebeat reported on the continuing hold-up of a prohibition of left turns into and out of the Wawa store at the intersection of Route 88 and Jack Martin Boulevard.

The left turn – still currently legal, despite being strongly discouraged by township officials – is also holding up the construction of a Popeyes fast food restaurant next door, which was approved with the condition that the prohibition on left-turn entrances and exits would be enacted first. Because Route 88 is a state highway, the state Department of Transportation is responsible for making the final call, since their roadway is of the highest jurisdiction of any involved.

A spokesman for the NJDOT said the state is still reviewing the matter, which has been pending since 2021 when the Wawa opened its doors. Since then, township officials say they have been in regular contact with the state agency over the no-left-turn rule, which was formally endorsed by the township council for DOT approval just days after the Wawa opened.

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“The developer of the Wawa is developing the adjacent property,” said Steve Schapiro, spokesperson for NJDOT, referring to developer Jack Morris, who owns the Wawa shopping plaza and adjacent mobile home park that sits behind it, as well as the site to the north where the Popeyes would be constructed. “NJDOT is actively reviewing an application for that property that includes eliminating the left turn movements at the Wawa driveway.”

Schapiro said the department is working with the developer to come up with “an acceptable design that will improve safety and maintain a level of access to the properties.”

“NJDOT has been in communication with the Brick Police Department, providing updates throughout 2022 and 2023 on the discussions between NJDOT and the developer,” he said. “The municipality was made aware [of] the department’s efforts.”

The Wawa-anchored shopping center is located at the site formerly occupied by the Laurelton Mobile Home Park, which still exists behind the commercial site in a smaller form. The township’s zoning board, in a 4-3 decision, approved an application that would bring the fast food chain to the site, which is owned by developer Jack Morris through a holding company known as JSM at Martin Boulevard LLC.

The Popeyes location would be north of the Wawa, and would include a double drive-through lane. A bank was originally proposed for the site, though it does not appear that project is being pursued.

Jack Martin Boulevard, Brick, N.J. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

A rendering of the proposed Popeyes restaurant in Brick Township, N.J. (Planning Document)

Board members conditioned their approval of the Popeyes restaurant on the prohibition of left turns into and out of the site. Township Planner Tara Paxton said there have been numerous crashes at the Wawa location since it opened. The approval also requires JSM, the developer, to install angled curbing to physically prevent vehicles from making illegal turns onto the property.

“The answer we get is that it’s still being worked out with their legal department at the DOT,” Bergin said last week. “We will continue to follow up, we support it, and the council supported it the day they were asked to support it.”