Improvements Planned for Rumson and Bingham: The Most Dangerous Intersection

Rumson's most dangerous intersection, at Bingham Avenue and Rumson Road, will be milled and repaved, beginning on Saturday, to correct what residents and local officials have described as hazardous conditions.

“There have been 20 accidents there in the past 3 years,” said Chief Richard Tobias of the .

Concerned residents told Patch they feel the intersection is plagued with bad visibility and is a prime location for black ice.

The police chief said he has been working with the county to assess this problem and come up with solutions. County officials say they recognize the dangers at the intersection and have made it a top priority.

The county project will start with milling of the center of the intersection Saturday morning. “The road was originally re-graded by the contractor 3 inches too high. We will be going in there this Saturday to fix the grading and make it smooth,” said Monmouth County Freeholder John Curley. “This will make the intersection much safer and palatable.”

According to both Curley and County Engineer Joe Ettore, residents should expect that road to be a bit rough for a couple days. The crew will be back on Tuesday morning to finish repaving the intersection. Both Saturday and Tuesday’s work is weather permitting and should be finished by early afternoon.

Ettore said the milling will help with the surface issues and with drainage.

In addition to these improvements, Ettore said the county plans to enhance the stop signs. They will be re-locating one that is currently located behind a utility pole and adding “bright sticks” to the poles. Bright sticks are vertical reflectors that will brighten the pole of the stop signs.

“I have been in this county for three generations and I know that has always been a very, very tough spot,” said Freeholder Curley, who is liaison to Department of Public Works and Engineering. “We have done previous studies there and we have made changes and will continue to make improvements until it is safe.” 

Ettore said these improvements will help, but residents still need to practice safe driving. “Drainage will be addressed and the surface and signage will be improved, but there is no way to design an intersection for somebody who is intoxicated,” said Ettore.

If residents feel these improvements do not help with the dangers of the intersection, the next move would be to apply for a stoplight.

The first step would be to go to borough council and have them create a resolution for a stoplight. “In order to that we would need a requesting authority, being the Mayor and Council,” said Curley.

County officials say they would be supportive of this resolution and through continued studies and an application with the Department of Transportation, start with a blinking light.

“We are trying to take measured steps to improve the intersection and take a less intrusive approach,” said Ettore.

According to Ettore, attempts to improve the intersection in the past included cutting back trees and vegetation, posting advanced stop warning signs in 2008 and creating a better turning radius by adding concrete curbing in 2010.

Ettore said that they are going to continue to study and work on the intersection until they feel they have resolved the problem.