On a wet February morning, Pastor Wil Kauffman stood beneath a sugar maple tree on the lawn of Grace Community Church of the Nazarene and tapped a small spile into the trunk.
A bag hung below to collect the sap — part of a late-winter ritual on the church’s property along Bull Run Road.
But this year’s maple tapping carried a sense of uncertainty.
Several of the mature maple trees scattered along the corner property could eventually be removed if plans move forward for a new roundabout at the intersection of Bull Run Road and Federal City Road — a redesign that would reshape a key regional junction shared by Ewing, Lawrence and Hopewell townships.
The safety issues at the intersection are well known to the pastor who lives next door to the church.
“One day last month there were three accidents in a day there,” said Kauffman, pastor of the church. “It’s a bad corner.”
Now the intersection is the focus of a proposed regional safety project funded through a New Jersey Department of Transportation grant. While local officials say the project would improve traffic flow and reduce severe crashes, it also raises questions about land use, communication and the future of the church property that sits directly at the corner.
A regional safety project
Earlier this year, Ewing Township announced it had been awarded $800,000 through NJDOT’s Local Transportation Projects Fund to help build a single-lane roundabout at the intersection and install a traffic signal nearby at Federal City Road and Federal Point Boulevard.
The project aims to improve safety and traffic flow at the busy crossroads used daily by drivers traveling between the three municipalities.
“This is a significant investment in public safety and regional mobility,” Ewing Mayor Bert H. Steinmann said in the announcement.
Officials in neighboring towns also welcomed the funding when it was announced in January. Hopewell Township Mayor David Chait said the project demonstrates “the value of strong regional collaboration and a shared commitment to safety.”
But for the church at the corner of the intersection, the project could mean losing part of its property — and potentially some of the mature trees that line its lawn.
A project centered on church land
Grace Community Church sits on roughly 10 acres at 100 Bull Run Road in Hopewell Township. The property borders the intersection and includes the church building, parsonage, parking areas and open lawn used for gatherings and events.
Because of its location along both roads, much of the land needed for the roundabout would likely come from the church’s frontage.
“They’re talking about taking all the land to about fifteen feet away from that newer sign,” Kauffman said while gazing out of the church windows. The church has two signs, including a large brick sign that sits directly in the path of the proposed roundabout.
Based on preliminary drawings shared with the church, the area affected could extend across portions of the front lawn near the intersection.
The project would also remove several large maple trees along the edge of the property — the same trees that Kauffman taps each winter to produce small batches of maple syrup. Last year, each member of the congregation received a small bottle.
While church leaders acknowledge the need to improve the intersection, they say they are still waiting to see more detailed plans.
“We recognize that something needs to be done,” Kauffman said. “But we’re waiting to see details because we still don’t have details.”
Among the church’s concerns are potential impacts to driveways, signage, landscaping and accessibility to the building.
Communication questions
Kauffman said the church first heard about the possibility of a roundabout roughly a year ago during early conversations with officials in Ewing Township.
After that initial discussion, he said communication slowed.
“I didn’t hear anything until late July of 2025,” he said.
At that point, Ewing officials requested letters from the church acknowledging the project as part of the state grant application process.
Church leaders responded by indicating they had reviewed the concept but had not made any final decision about supporting it.
“While we remain open to collaboration and constructive dialogue, please note that no commitments or final decisions have been made at this time,” one letter stated.
Kauffman said the church could not formally endorse the project without seeing detailed plans.
“I said, ‘I can’t do that. I’ve never seen the plans,’” he said.
At the time MercerMe first spoke with the church earlier this year, Kauffman also said there had been no discussion about compensation if land from the property were needed for the project.
“So far there’s been no compensation talk at all,” he said.
Township begins discussions with church
Since that initial conversation, Hopewell Township officials have begun meeting with church leaders to talk through the project and its potential impacts.
Chait said he has been in contact with the church to begin discussing the many logistical questions that come with an intersection redesign involving three municipalities.
The mayor acknowledged that the roundabout could affect the church property but said the township wants to ensure the process is handled fairly.
“The compensation, you know, it needs to be fair,” Chait said. “But then also other places and things that are impacted when you think about the sign… there’s one way which is you just move something. There’s something else which is you elevate it and make it better if you are already making a change. This is an area and an opportunity that we are looking to elevate and really support them, not put them out.”
Chait said township officials recognize the church’s role in the community and want to work collaboratively as the project moves forward.
“Whatever path that goes, we would want to do so in a way that is fair to the church, to the pastor, and to that community,” he said.
A complicated jurisdiction
The project highlights the unusual geography of the intersection.
Bull Run Road and Federal City Road are local municipal roads, but the crossroads sits at the meeting point of three municipalities. The church property itself lies in Hopewell Township, while nearby corners fall within Lawrence and Ewing.
That multi-town boundary means several governments are involved in planning the project.
Because the NJDOT grant was awarded to Ewing Township, that municipality has taken the lead in applying for funding. Hopewell Township officials, however, have begun working directly with the church since the property affected sits within Hopewell’s borders.
Survey work and engineering studies have begun, although things have been slow because of the weather.
Transportation officials have indicated that projects of this type often take several years to move from initial design through environmental review, land acquisition and construction.
Balancing safety and impact
Despite concerns about the process, Kauffman said the church is not opposed to improving safety at the intersection.
“We do care about people’s physical bodies as well as their spiritual bodies,” he said. “There’s enough problems here.”
At the same time, church leaders hope to remain closely involved as planning continues.
“I just think if this is what you’re planning, why didn’t you tell the property owner?” Kauffman said.
Looking ahead
The NJDOT grant funds the next phase of design and planning for the intersection improvements. Additional details about engineering, land acquisition and construction timelines are expected to emerge as the project advances.
For now, the intersection remains unchanged — a busy crossroads where traffic from three towns converges and accidents are likely to occur.
And on the church lawn beside it, sap continues to drip slowly into collection bags beneath the maple trees — a quiet seasonal ritual that Kaufman will take advantage of while he still can.
