Work is under way on a $600,000 initial study to upgrade Garden State Parkway Exit 91 in northern Brick Township.
Funded by the North Jersey Transpor-tation Planning Authority (NJTPA), the 18-month study will consider several options to improve Ocean County’s northernmost Parkway interchange.
The Ocean County Board of Freehold-ers will execute a contract to begin receiving reimbursement money for the study from the NJTPA.
Included in the study is a preliminary proposal for a northbound exit and southbound entrance to the Parkway. Currently, only northbound traffic may enter the parkway while only southbound traffic may exit.
“We will be looking at ways to both improve the flow of traffic and expand Exit 91 to a full north-south interchange,” said Ocean County Engineer Ronald A. Lotrecchio.
The plan also includes improvements to the park and ride commuter parking lots adjacent to the intersection.
Other proposals to be studied during the scoping study include:
• A southbound entrance from a new Burnt Tavern Road-Lanes Mills Road left turn jughandle.
• A northbound entrance-exit ramp from a new signalized intersection with Burrsville Road.
• An access road linking the existing parkway northbound entrance and the Joseph E. Buckelew commuter parking lot.
• An extension of Herborn Avenue to Lanes Mill Road so traffic moving north toward Monmouth County could avoid the parkway interchange altogether.
Also proposed is an access road linking the northbound parkway entrance with Burnt Tavern Road east of the Lanes Mill Road intersection.
The access road would funnel parkway traffic to a new intersection just north of Burnt Tavern Road.
“By dividing traffic between two intersections, we can reduce delays for both motorists entering the parkway and those traveling on Burnt Tavern and Lanes Mill roads,” Lotrecchio said.
Freeholder John P. Kelly, liaison to the Ocean County Department of Engineering, said Exit 91 is one of the most heavily used parkway interchanges in Ocean County.
“Thousands of motorists depend on this interchange to get to work every day,” he said. “Once these improvements are completed, motorists in the northern part of the county can expect improved access to the Garden State Parkway.”
Construction would be funded by the parkway and the county, with the county’s expected $5 million portion eligible for federal funding, Lotrecchio said.
Work on the interchange is expected to be completed in about five years, according to a press release.