def #136 07/14/10
COUNTY INTRODUCES FUNDING MEASURE FOR CONNECTOR ROAD
TOMS RIVER – A new connector road in the Pleasant Plains area is expected to improve access to and from the Garden
State Parkway northbound and help relieve some of the congestion at the intersection of Route 9 (Lakewood Road) and County
Route 571 or Indian Hill Road, here.
“This project will bring welcome relief to motorists that use the area and are aware of the congestion problems
that currently exist. The connector road will provide for a safer trip for our motorists,” said Freeholder John P. Kelly,
Director of Law and Public Safety. “This project has been in the planning stages for sometime, and now that we have
received all of the necessary permits and approvals we are moving it forward.”
The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders is scheduled to introduce a funding ordinance appropriating $2
million and authorizing the issuance of $1.9 million in bonds for the project during the board’s July 21 meeting. A public
hearing will be held on the measure August 4.
Plans for the project include constructing a connector road between Route 166 and County Route 571. The exit ramp
from the Garden State Parkway northbound will be expanded and improved and a signalized intersection will be provided
where the ramp meets the proposed connector road. At that intersection, vehicles can then turn left to access Route 571
or right to access Route 166 southbound.
Under the plan, access also will be provided from the connector road onto the Garden State Parkway northbound
from the signalized intersection. The existing ramp from the Garden State Parkway northbound will be retained in the final
interchange configuration. All three proposed connector road intersections - Route 166, Garden State Parkway northbound
exit and entrance ramps, and Route 571 – will be controlled with traffic signals. In addition, Route 571 will be widened
between Route 9 and the connector road.
Kelly noted the new connector road is part of improvements to Interchange 83 on the Garden State Parkway, which
will include replacing the Parkway bridge over Route 571.
“The improvements to this area are extensive,” Kelly said. “This Board of Freeholders works to make certain each
road project makes our road’s safer for the traveling public.”
Freeholder Director James F. Lacey, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Road Department, noted that with
more than 2,000 lane miles of county roads, it’s important to consider the projects that will produce the greatest
benefits for motorists.
“Anyone who travels this area is aware of the congestion and traffic volume,” Lacey said. “Constructing this new road
will be a big help to local and commuter traffic.”
Ocean County is expecting to seek bids for the work at the end of this year and construction of the 1.3-mile long
connector road could begin in the spring of 2011.
