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County Eyes Up Route 571 And Route 528 Improvement Projects
By Bill McLaughlin
Ronald Lotrecchio of the Ocean County Engineering Department asked the county Board of Chosen Freeholders at their pre-board meeting last Wednesday for permission to advertise for three major projects and also asked approval for one recommendation.
A bid of $1.09 million by C.J. Hesse Incorporated of Middletown was recommended for the reconstruction and paving of Route 571 from Goetz Lane to Route 528, Jackson, and a small part of the highway west of Anderson Road, also in Jackson. Lotrecchio said this is the final link in the Route 571 restoration project from County Line Road through Manchester.
Freeholder Director John P. Kelly said the road is heavily traveled by large trucks.
"The improvements will include a stronger base and surface that can stand up to the heavier traffic," Kelly said.
A detour later this summer will take drivers onto Stump Tavern Road when construction begins, with a temporary traffic light placed at Route 528 and Stump Tavern during the project. There will be local access for residents and emergency vehicles throughout the construction, Kelly advised the board. The work will include drainage improvements and should be finished in September, he said.
The freeholder, liaison to the county Engineer's Office, said bids for the project came in about $250,000 less than anticipated.
Also, a two-mile stretch of Route 528 in Jackson from Van Hiseville to Cassville roads will undergo a massive rebuilding. The road is one of the main east-west arterials between Jackson and Brick, Lotrecchio told the board, adding that the roadway has undergone a transformation in sections with this the final project.
"Like Route 571, Route 528 has seen a number of improvement projects along its entire length," said Freeholder James Lacey. "Running from the Mantoloking Bridge over the Barnegat Bay to New Egypt and the Burlington County line, Route 528 is one of the longest roads in the county."
Improved safety, shoulder widening and upgrade of the road surface are elements of the project, which also includes straightening of the Leesville Road intersection and upgrading the road drainage system throughout the county.
If approved, the bidder will begin clearing for utility work immediately with road construction scheduled for next spring. Cost of the project is estimated at $2 million.
Also, a $100,000 project to install, refurbish or locate route markers indicating the 500 and 600 series of roadways will be done soon.
Lotrecchio indicated the 600 series of roadthrough ways is a Cold War invention of the 1950s when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and he embarked on building up national roadways.
Highways designed 600 were located entirely within one county, Lotrecchio told the board; 500 series highways served two or more counties. This project will be done using county dollars, he said.
And Lotrecchio asked that he be allowed to seek bids for the reconstruction of a T-dock at Berkeley Island Park, Berkeley.
"I know that to be a well-used facility," said Kelly. "My first job with the county was at
Berkeley Island Park. When I was told that
the place was old and deteriorated, I said 'That can't be. I'm not that old and I was
there when it opened.'"
Kelly was told the fishing and crabbing dock was wiped out by the cumulative effects of ice and wave action in recent winters. The county engineers will work with the parks and recreation department on the 90-by-10- foot timber pier, which will jut out into Barnegat Bay at the south end of Berkeley.
Having the county engineering department design the dock should save about $12,000, Kelly said. If the bidding process runs smoothly, the project could be finished in the fall.
Previously, the board agreed to a $294,329 service contract with the firm of Keller and Kirkpatrick to replace the Black Snake Creek Bridge in Berkeley and for improvements to the intersection of Route 70 and Route 539 in Manchester.
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