VETERANS BOULEVARD IMPROVEMENTS ON THE WAY

A PORTION of Veterans Boulevard in Berkeley Township will be reconstructed under an estimated $2 million project that will begin this summer.

"This is an important access road to the Garden State Parkway in the central part of the township," said Freeholder John P. Kelly, Director of Law and Public Safety for the county. "Motorists will see some significant safety improvements once this work is done."

More than 4,300 feet of the road near Exit 77 on the Garden State Parkway will be reconstructed and widened from Western Boulevard to Grand Central Parkway.

A second eastbound lane will be added as well as wider shoulders, increasing the shoulder size from 3 feet to 6 feet.
The horizontal and vertical curves of the roadway will also be improved to provide better sight distances and safer conditions.

Kelly said the safety improvements are also important because of the large number of students and school buses that travel to nearby Central Regional High School.

The project also includes a totally upgraded drainage system with 2,300 feet of storm drainpipe, 25 drain structures and two stormwater infiltration basins.

"The new basins meet or exceed the state Department of Environmental Protection's stringent water quality standards to protect Barnegat Bay," said Freeholder Director Gerry P. Little.

The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders is expected to seek bids for the contract in the coming weeks.
Freeholder James F. Lacey, liaison to the Ocean County Road Department, said construction should begin following the end of school in June and be completed by the end of the year.

"We hope to have most of the heavy work done before school starts in September," Lacey said.