By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer
BRICK — Township officials have paved the way toward renovating one of the town’s most congested intersections.
Improvements will be made to a left turn from Route 70 to Chambers Bridge Road, which Mayor Joseph Scarpelli called "one of the most notorious spots in our community in regard to traffic congestion." Officials estimate that the work will expand an existing left turn lane’s capacity to 24 cars from its current threshold of 12.
The lowest bid for the project was submitted by Ace Manzo, of Aberdeen. However, the company told the council that it would not be able to complete the work by the Thanksgiving target date. Councilwoman Kimberley Casten said the work’s timely completion was key in light of the annual rush of holiday shopping traffic.
The majority of the work is expected to be done at night to avoid exacerbating the traffic problem at the intersection. The work will include site-clearing, traffic control, roadway construction, drainage and restoration.
The final bid for the work was awarded to Earle Asphalt Co., Farmingdale, at a cost of $132,453. The rejected Ace Manzo bid was for $129,900.
The project will be funded in the township’s 2002 capital program, with reimbursement by the state Department of Transportation (DOT), according to the Oct. 22 Township Council resolution awarding the bid.
Fair share costs required by the DOT from the developers of commercial ratables along the corridor were pursued by Scarpelli and state Sen. Andrew Ciesla (R-10) to help make the project possible.
Although the DOT is responsible for improvements on state highways like Route 70, an agreement was reached that will allow the township to handle the improvements.
Several months ago, township officials and engineers met with Ciesla to discuss improvements needed along the Route 70 corridor in light of upcoming development projects along the road. The township retained the services of Birdsall Engineering, Belmar, to conduct a traffic study in the area.
The results of the study were discussed at a later meeting between developers and state and local officials. At that meeting, work plans were developed for the project.
In other business, the council authorized the sale of a consumption liquor license to Famous Dave’s, Cedar Bridge Ave. The sale price was $377,000, which Councilman Gregory Kavanagh called "quite a good price on the township’s behalf."
The original sale price was proposed to be $350,000, but the council decided to raise that figure to $375,000, according to Steven Cucci, council president. Famous Dave’s, the highest bidder for the license, exceeded that price by $2,000.