Nearly $28M Awarded Monmouth County For Local, Rural Road Fixes

FREEHOLD, NJ – Monmouth County has been awarded two types of funding for five projects through the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) to improve county roads, officials announced Wednesday.

Two projects have been approved for funding through the Local Safety Program and three projects have been approved for funding through the High Risk Rural Roads Program for fiscal year 2022.

The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners announced the funding.

“Project funding through partners like NJTPA minimizes the financial impact on county taxpayers, while supporting our goal of keeping our roads safe for our travelers. We thank NJTPA for their continued support,” said Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone.

For the Local Safety Program, funding will be used for improvements on:

• Monmouth Road (County Route 537) between Burnt Tavern Road/Anderson Road and Allyson Road in Millstone. The project's $2.95 million in funding will enhance circulation of traffic and provide traffic calming measures that will reduce the potential for crashes along the corridor. The improvements will include a two-lane roundabout, road widening, improvements to existing traffic signals and high visibility crosswalks.
• Cedar Avenue (County Route 25) between Norwood Avenue and Ocean Avenue in Long Branch. This project received $4.7 million in funding to improve safety and operations at 15 intersections along the corridor. The improvements will include pedestrian and traffic signal upgrades, buffered bicycle lanes, dedicated left turn lanes and high visibility crosswalks.

For the High Risk Rural Roads Program, funding will be used for improvements on:

• County Route 539 (Allentown-Davis Station Road/Forked River Road) between County Route 27 (Arneytown-Hornerstown Road) and High Street in Upper Freehold, $9.44 million.
• County Route 526 (Allentown-Red Valley Road/Trenton-Lakewood Road) between Sharon Station Road and an Interstate 195 underpass in Millstone and Upper Freehold, $5.95 million.
• County Route 527 (Iron Ore Road/High Bridge Road) between Iron Ore Road/Indian Path and Woodruff Court in Manalapan, $4.78 million.

These three road improvement projects will include high friction surface treatment along existing horizontal curves, centerline and edge line rumble strips, drainage improvements, and upgraded signs and pavement markings, the county said.

In total, the county maintains approximately 1,000 lane miles of roads, 980 bridges and culverts and 250 traffic signals and beacons, officials said.