LAKEWOOD — Work should begin next spring on further improvements to North Hope Chapel Road.
The Ocean County Board of Freeholders is expected to give the green light for bids to be advertised for the second phase of the road reconstruction project.
The next phase of the project will completely reconstruct and widen the road extending from county Route 526 to Miller Road. The project will regrade a curve near Miller Road, add turn lanes at North and South Lake Drive and 14th Street, and a new traffic signal at North Lake Drive.
The project, expected to be completed by next fall, is estimated to cost about $1.8 million, Ocean County Engineer Ronald A. Lotrecchio said.
The Hope Chapel Road project is the first county contract to introduce a unique approach to ensure the work is completed as quickly as possible. An initial contractor was hired earlier this year at a cost of $87,000 to complete necessary preliminary work before actual construction begins.
Kyle Conti Construction went to work earlier this year to clear the site, relocate fences, construct retaining walls, remove trees to prepare for the work of the utility companies to move their lines.
“All too often, it’s the little details that hold a project up,” said Freeholder John P. Kelly, liaison to the Ocean County Depart-ment of Engineering. “By having a separate contractor take care of the preliminary details, the second contractor is free to come in and concentrate on improving the road.”