Route 33 bypass will carry
Narozanick’s name forever
DAVE BENJAMIN Acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco (l) congratulates Monmouth County Freeholder Ted Narozanick of Freehold Borough after a portion of the Route 33 bypass was named the “Theodore J. Narozanick Highway.”
MANALAPAN — One of Western Monmouth County’s most well-known residents will forever have his name linked to a highway whose construction he has supported for the better part of four decades.
State officials, including acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco, gathered along the Route 33 bypass last week to rename the stretch of highway from just east of Millhurst Road in Manalapan to Fairfield Road in Howell the "Theodore J. Narozanick Highway" in honor of the longtime county freeholder.
The final leg of the bypass is under construction from Halls Mill Road in Freehold Township to Fairfield Road in Howell. The project is scheduled for completion in 2002.
"Talk to anyone who has known or worked with Ted Narozanick and you will hear the same words used — words like dedicated, hardworking, energetic, a good person, a true public servant," DiFrancesco said. "If you add his years as the Monmouth County administrator, plus freeholder, Ted Narozanick has worked for the people of Monmouth County for more than four decades. His record of service is so long that it predates the first meeting on the Route 33 bypass. That’s a long time ago."
State Senate Majority Leader John O. Bennett (R-Monmouth) called Narozanick "a class act."
"It was Ted’s unswerving dedication to our county that helped secure the funding ($30 million) to pay the cost of constructing the final 1.9-mile segment of the Route 33 bypass," Bennett said.
State Sen. Joseph A. Palaia (R-Monmouth) added, "This road is aptly named for somebody who has worked so hard, for so long, and never gave up. Ted Narozanick epitomizes somebody who puts his teeth into something and won’t let go until it’s finished. That’s Ted Narozanick — aptly named and very appropriate."
Narozanick, who is serving his fourth term on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders, is in charge of human services, health and transportation.
He is a native of and former mayor of Englishtown, currently residing in Freehold Borough.
"Ted has been a strong advocate for seniors and veterans," said DiFrancesco. "He worked to provide for the county’s poor and sick. He is a friend to police and firefighters and a strong supporter of the library system right here in Monmouth County. He is a preserver and a maker of county history."
James Weinstein, state transportation commissioner, added, "Ted Narozanick has worked tirelessly for his constituents in Monmouth County. It is a fitting tribute that those motorists who use this road know it is dedicated to a life of public service. I can’t think of anybody in this state, at the county level, who is more deserving of having a section of road dedicated in his honor."
Narozanick took the podium and explained that the Route 33 bypass had been in the discussion stage since the early 1960s. The previous section, up to Halls Mill Road in Freehold Township, was completed more than a decade ago. The final leg from Halls Mill Road to Fairfield Road was delayed for a period of years by a number of issues before construction got under way last summer.
Narozanick noted that the benefits to the western part of Monmouth County — the movement of heavy trucks and various traffic around Freehold — will have a tremendous impact on the borough.
"The naming of this highway for me is a great honor, and (today) is really an emotional day for me," said Narozanick. "It’s really the greatest moment of my life. I’m very thrilled with it."