By Stephanie Prokop, Staff Writer
Four local towns are slated to receive a combined total of $564,000 in state transportation money to help improve road conditions.
A total of $78.75 million in state Department of Transportation municipal aid grants to fund street improvement and safety projects will be doled out to approximately 372 towns in 2009, according to a news release from Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
The purpose of the grants includes preserving jobs and keeping property taxes in check statewide.
“Rebuilding the state’s infrastructure, from roads to bridges to mass transit, is going to be central to both getting us out of the recession and positioning New Jersey to take advantage when the economy recovers,” Gov. Corzine stated. “This year’s municipal aid program will provide road improvements, property tax relief, and economic growth; three elements that are key to New Jersey’s turnaround and success.”
Bordentown City will receive $155,000 to put toward resurfacing West Chestnut Street.
City Commissioner James Lynch said Tuesday that money also may provide some additional infrastructure changes, pertaining to sewer or whatever else needs to be upgraded.
“We have been pretty fortunate with the assistance that we’ve gotten, and I think that the (good) quality of the streets in town show for that,” he said.
He said for the past several years the state has granted the city DOT funds and the city has systematically gone through and picked various streets that need attention.
“We always request more than one project at a time, just to see what they would give,” he said.
Last year, the state granted nearly $90,000 to go toward the resurfacing of Walnut Street.
The grants provide funding to municipalities that would otherwise have to use local tax money for road improvement projects.
NJDOT gives each county a specific funding amount based on its population and road mileage, and distributes funds to towns based on field investigations and engineering evaluations of proposed projects. NJDOT provides 75 percent of the grant amount when it awards the contract and the remaining money upon project completion.
In Chesterfield, $175,000 will be awarded to improve Chesterfield-Georgetown Road.
Last year, Chesterfield received $125,000.
New Hanover will receive $84,000 to put toward the improvement of Nor-Laine Drive, and Florence will receive approximately $150,000 to put toward Fifth Avenue Reconstruction.
State officials also encourage municipalities to apply for funding for projects that support walking and biking as part of the Governor’s Pedestrian Safety Initiative.

