Using federal funds, Ocean County and the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) have been planning for a while to begin a comprehensive study to bring long-term major traffic improvements to address congestion and safety along portions of Kennedy Boulevard and County Line Road in Lakewood.
According to 2020 traffic counts, Kennedy Boulevard carries 18,816 vehicles daily, and County Line Road carries 18,774 vehicles daily. Peak traffic hours are 7:00-9:00am and 4:00pm-6:00pm, with 2,827 vehicles traveling Kennedy Boulevard during the peak afternoon hours.
Between September 2018 and September 2021 there were 30 crashes, including 4 crashes with injuries, at County Line Road and Forest Avenue. Several more intersections along these roads have had over 20 crashes over a 3 year period.
Noting that "the heavy volumes of vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic creates unsafe conditions along these corridors," county officials have been planning on some major congestion improvements along these corridors.
In June 2021, the Ocean County Board of Commissioners formally committed $1.6 Million for the reconstruction and widening of Kennedy Boulevard between Squankum Road and Route 9. Plans for that project continues.
County officials deemed this project to be "shorter term improvements," and they commenced on obtaining federal grants for a more major improvements project for this corridor.
The first big step to bringing this project to fruition occurred in March 2022 when the NJTPA formally awarded Ocean County $1 million in Federal funding to fund a Local Concept Development to study Kennedy Boulevard and East County Line Road between Squankum Road and Laurelwood Avenue "to address congestion and safety in the project area."
Subsequently, in May 2023, the NJTPA awarded a $1,875,000 contract to Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. for the Kennedy Boulevard and East County Line Road study as well as a study on another project in Monmouth County. The Lakewood portion of the study will cost just under the $1 million the County was previously awarded.
At this early stage in the process, county officials do not yet know what configuration these roads will have once the project advances, rather, the NJTPA Local Concept Development process will review the project area and identify alternatives and at the completion of the LCD process, the county will know what improvements will be recommended to advance to preliminary design.
Once the LCD is complete, NJTPA will use additional federal funds for the Preliminary and Final Engineering work as well as the actual road work, a NJTPA spokesperson confirmed to FAA News.
(In simple terms, the federal government gives money for major road improvements. However, you can't simply tell them what you want to do and then ask for a blank check. Rather, you need to first go through the process of doing comprehensive studies which includes studying various "planning alternatives" (i.e. different road improvements or configurations) and then you can get funding for the exact project that you already knew from the beginning that you wanted to do).
The good news is that county officials have just announced that they will be hosting an online Public Information Center meeting to inform local residents, officials, businesses and the general public about the Concept Development Study.
The meeting and project implementation are in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, and the Federal Highway Administration.
The purpose of the meeting is to inform the public about the existing conditions within the project corridor and solicit input and comment regarding the project’s Purpose and Need statement, which will later be used to guide the development of conceptual alternatives.
This meeting is being conducted in conformance with Federal and State regulations.
All members of the public are invited and encouraged to comment on the study.
This is your big chance to let your voice be heard!
Date: Thursday, August 8, 2024
Time: 5-7 PM
Find the meeting link at:
www.CountyLineandKennedy.com
This is an online meeting with a slide presentation and Q&A session.
Following this meeting, the materials presented will be available at www.CountyLineandKennedy.com for review and public comment for 30 days. Written comments will be accepted through September 8, 2024.
Comments may be mailed to the Community Involvement Facilitator, Anthony Sytko, Stokes Creative Group, 1666 Route 206, Vincentown, NJ 08088. You may also email them to CountyLineandKennedy@gmail.com or fax them to 732-506-5182.
If you have questions regarding the project, please contact: Mark Jehnke, P.E., Assistant County Engineer 732-929-2130
The project section of Kennedy Blvd currently has 2 travel lanes, each 12 feet wide, plus a shoulder of variable width, 0-14 feet. The project section of County Line Road currently has 3 travel lanes, each 12 feet wide, plus a shoulder of variable width, 0-6 feet.
This section of Kennedy Blvd was last repaved in 2008. Portions of County Line Road were last repaved in 2012 and 2008.
The tentative overall project schedule is as follows:
Local Concept Development Study – current, phase expected to be completed Spring 2025
Local Preliminary Engineering Phase – anticipated Spring 2026
Final Design Phase – anticipated Fall 2027
Construction Phase – anticipated Spring 2029
The overall project schedule is an estimate based on the typical durations of the various project design phases. Subsequent project design and construction phase dates are dependent upon available funding, ROW and environmental impacts, permitting, and necessary approvals between project phases.
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