[ Advocacy Campaign ]
Protect Cat Tail Brook
Montgomery Road carries more history than most people realize. Spanning Cat Tail Brook along that road is Hillsborough's oldest documented stone bridge — a single-arch fieldstone structure built in 1825 by local craftsmen, still standing and still in service after more than 200 years. It is one of the oldest bridges in New Jersey.
Now, a planned chip/seal paving project on Montgomery Road raises concerns on two fronts.
Cat Tail Brook is a C1-designated stream, one of New Jersey's most protected waterways, that feeds into Rock Brook, also C1. Chip/seal applications involve petroleum-based materials that could send harmful runoff directly into this sensitive watershed and increase stormwater impacts on these fragile streams.
And the bridge itself: we don't yet know what increased traffic or changes to road surface and drainage could mean for a 200-year-old structure that has never needed to be replaced.
We take our role as stewards of the Sourland Mountain seriously, and we recognize road maintenance is an essential municipal responsibility. We're asking that protecting these streams — and this irreplaceable piece of Hillsborough's history — be part of the plan.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Gates.
What can you do to help?
Hillsborough Township residents: please email Mayor Catherine Payne and the Township Committee and ask them to pause this project until a proper environmental and structural review can be completed.
📧 Mayor Catherine Payne: cpayne@hillsboroughnj.gov
Attend the Township meeting: Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at 7:30 PM (379 South Branch Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844)
Photo courtesy of Jeff Gates.