For Immediate Release:
January 22, 2018
MONMOUTH COUNTY AWARDED $1.6 MILLION FOR SAFETY PROJECTS IN HOLMDEL, UPPER FREEHOLD
Funds will be used to advance needed work
FREEHOLD, NJ – Monmouth County will receive $1.6 million in federal funding to advance needed safety improvements in Holmdel Township and Upper Freehold.
The projects are among 14 throughout the region that the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) Board of Trustees approved at its Jan. 22 meeting. The improvements will be completed as part of two separate projects:
- Exploring converting the two-way stop controlled intersection at Holmdel Road, North Beers Street and Crape Myrtle Drive in Holmdel into a modern roundabout. The Federal Highway Administration has identified modern roundabouts as proven safety countermeasures with the potential to reduce severe crashes by 82 percent at two-way stop controlled intersections. If this is not feasible, another option is converting to a signalized intersection, $1,224,434.
- Application of high friction surface treatment, safety edging (to minimize vertical drop-off and allow motorists to safely reenter the paved road), centerline rumble strips, raised pavement markers, safety striping and signage to warn of curves along a 1.7 mile stretch of Stagecoach Road (CR 524) in Upper Freehold, $375,000.
“The Stage Coach Road grant will allow us to continue making important safety improvements along a roadway helping us to prevent injuries and save lives,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Monmouth County Public Works and Engineering Department who represents the county on the NJTPA Board of Trustees. “The intersection improvements in Holmdel will improve pedestrian and motorist safety and overall operations at an intersection with a history of unsatisfactory performance.”
The intersection improvement in Holmdel is part of the NJTPA’s Local Safety Program, which provides federal funds for cost-effective solutions that can make an immediate impact on their target areas. The Stage Coach Road (CR 524) project will be funded through the NJTPA’s High Risk Rural Roads Program.
The High Risk Rural Roads Program funding will build on County efforts to improve safety along Stagecoach Road (CR 524). The NJTPA Board previously approved $600,000 in grants in 2014 and 2016 for safety upgrades on other portions of the road in Millstone and Upper Freehold.
The NJTPA Board approved $50.8 million in Local Safety Program and High Risk Rural Roads grants for projects that will proceed in fiscal years 2017 and 2018. More information on the program is available online at www.njtpa.org/LocalSafety.
The NJTPA is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for 13 northern New Jersey counties. Under federal legislation, MPOs provide a forum where local officials, public transportation providers and state agency representatives can come together and cooperatively plan to meet the region’s current and future transportation needs. The agency establishes the region’s eligibility to receive federal tax dollars for transportation projects.
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