TOMS RIVER – Ocean County has completed an apron rehabilitation project at the Ocean County Airport, Berkeley Township, providing for a smoother and safer area for airplanes to prepare for take-off and to store after landing.

"The last apron repair was done more than 15 years ago and over time we began to see significant surface cracking," said Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners Joseph H. Vicari, who serves as liaison to the airport. "Due to the aging of the surface it was important for us to make these improvements to the apron to improve safety for the pilots and to assure the area was well maintained for the planes."

The six month project was completed in December 2022.

The rehabilitation project consisted of approximately 95,000 square yards of bituminous pavement, and included full depth crack repairs, paving, drainage repairs and pavement markings.

"The apron area is adjacent to our t-hangars and terminal building at the airport and it needs to be well maintained," Vicari said. "Corporate jets and personal aircraft use this area frequently and with a lot of use comes wear and tear. With the various weights of the planes, there can be safety issues created when taxiing over cracks.

"We take great pride in our airport and invest in making certain everything is up to date," Vicari said.
The apron rehabilitation project was broken into four phases including one for design and three for construction. All construction phases were awarded to contractor CJ Hesse.

The total cost of the project was $3,514,399 with phases one, two and four funded 100 percent by the Federal Aviation Administration. Phase three required a County contribution of $16,667.

Since 1991, about $42 million has been invested in various improvement projects at the Ocean County Airport with about $32 million coming from FAA grants and New Jersey Department of Transportation funding.

"The airport is relied upon during emergencies and also helps with the County's economic development," Vicari said. "By partnering with the state and federal government we have secured a good portion of the funds needed to keep the airport safe and kept in good condition."