Lodi, NJ - On Thursday, traffic in the small town of Lodi, New Jersey came to a halt, and it wasn't because of rush hour. Actually, it was the groundbreaking for a new construction project meant to widen Main Street and US Route 46. The project is being funded with mostly federal money due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

          On hand were Lodi's Mayor Marc Shrieks, Senator Frank Lautenberg, Senator Robert Menendez, Governor Jon Corzine, and the guest of honor, Vice President Joe Biden. The Secret Service, county, and local town police worked together to shut down almost all traffic in the immediate area. The Democratic party handed out a limited number of tickets to VIPs and party members, said one police official. Most Lodi citizens were pushed back far away from the Vice President.

          A small group of young people managed to gather on an eastbound ramp to watch the Vice President's speech from afar. They called for Biden to come over repeatedly. Eventually, they got their wish, but first, Jon Corzine came over to shake hands. The mostly high-school aged crowd was enthusiastic and lined up with their camera phones to get pictures. Lodi resident, Gurbakhash Kaur, who is starting medical school at Drexel University this August, asked Corzine what Obama and Biden are doing about rising health education costs. Corzine briefly mentioned a healthcare reform bill, but cut his handshaking short when Kaur continued to question him about college debt.

          Shortly after Corzine left, the Vice President came over to greet the crowd. He took his time shaking every hand and chatting with members of Lodi High School's soccer team. He posed for two official pictures with the students. It wasn't all photo-ops, however.

          A handful of the students in the group were a part of Lodi's Sikh community. Gurbakhash Kaur tried to question the Vice President about two Sikhs in the United States Army who were told to cut their hair in order to serve. The two men were medical professionals entering the U.S. military, and their religion forbids them to cut their hair. Vice President Biden interrupted Kaur to tell her a member of his staff is a Sikh and did not allow her to finish her question. Afterwards, Kaur said, "I want the story to get coverage, as hardly anyone pays attention to our issues . . . we need a lot more legal support and begging and pleading to get our issues addressed."

          Biden then explained to the crowd that he was out of time, and it hadn't been in his plans to greet anyone. He waved goodbye one last time, before getting into his limo and being whisked away. The twenty or so people who got the chance to meet him were glad he took the detour.