By LAWRENCE HAJNA
Courier-Post Staff
PHILADELPHIA

A regional planning commission approved hundreds of millions of dollars for South Jersey transportation projects Thursday, including $144 million for ongoing construction of the light-rail line between Camden and Trenton.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission's stamp of approval is needed to release federal funds that can account for up to 80 percent of the funding for transportation projects. State and local sources account for the balance.

More important, the approvals provide a good picture of traffic-construction headaches commuters face over the next three years, as well as how officials will combat regional growth.

In all, the commission approved $909 million for Camden, Burlington, Gloucester and Mercer counties.

Tri-county commuters face:

•Elimination of traffic circles in Berlin Township and Collingswood.

•Construction of more noise barriers.

•Work around Route 42 in the Deptford Mall area.

•Major reconstruction of Interstate 295 in Cherry Hill and Mount Laurel.

The $6 million allocated toward getting rid of the Collingswood Circle is great news for Patricia O'Donnell, who lives about a half-mile away and "can't stand it."

"I'm hoping it's true. It definitely would be a major plus," said O'Donnell, who has lived in her Park Avenue home for 15 years and said she avoids the circle whenever possible.

The commission's overall plan relies on improving roads and expanding mass transit in hopes of redeveloping already built-up areas while trying to keep pressure off dwindling open areas.

"This will hopefully lead us to the future we're hoping for," commission planner Charles Dougherty said.

The funding plan includes about $486 million in road, bridge and traffic control projects for Camden, Gloucester, Burlington and Mercer counties. It clears $383 million in funding for NJ Transit projects, including the light-rail line, bus replacement and rail-crossing improvements.

The commission also cleared $40 million in spending on numerous Delaware River Port Authority projects, including $ 8 million for a tramway that will link the Camden Waterfront with Penn's Landing in Philadelphia.

State project lists do not include any new highway construction projects for Burlington, Camden or Gloucester counties. The biggest infrastructure project by far is the light-rail line, the cornerstone of the state's attempt to revitalize the Route 130 corridor between Camden and Trenton.

The $144 million represents funding for the first segment of the billion-dollar line, which is more than a year away from beginning operations.

"We're trying to work with municipal and county governments to redevelop areas that can take growth - and Route 130 is a primary example of that," said commission director John Coscia. "This is a model for the rest of New Jersey."

A Courier-Post investigation earlier this year, however, questioned whether the line will generate sufficient riders to justify its cost.

The commission also authorized funding for studies of:

•How to relieve congestion at the merge of interstates 295 and 76 and Route 42, possibly through a viaduct that will carry I-295 over the tangled convergence of highways.

•Congestion along Route 322 in Gloucester County between the Commodore Barry Bridge and Route 55.

•The feasibility of a commuter rail line into Gloucester County to help ease congestion along the Route 42 corridor.