A redesign of the intersection of Route 35 and Route 36 in Eatontown to ease traffic congestion is scheduled to begin this year. CHRIS KELLY staff EATONTOWN — The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is accepting bids from contractors for the long-awaited redesign of the Route 35 and Route 36 interchange.
The bids, which the state began accepting on Dec. 24, will be unsealed next month, with the winning bid expected to be awarded to the lowest bidder shortly thereafter.
“Bids will be accepted until [Jan. 14], after which the project will hopefully be awarded … and construction can begin sometime in late winter or early spring,” explained DOT spokesman Tim Greeley.
“This project will improve safety and relieve congestion at this intersection by realigning Route 35 to provide a near-90-degree intersection with Route 36 and making further upgrades to the jughandle ramps at the intersection,” Greeley said.
The project is expected to bring significant improvements to the congested interchange, which carries travelers to and from the shore and Monmouth Park.
“It’s essentially an 18-month to two-year project,” Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo explained last week.
“They estimate the cost to be roughly about $14 million and change. And … it’s sorely needed, based on the traffic congestion that we currently have at that interchange.
“We will finally have in place something that is more conducive to the traffic congestion that we are currently going through,” Tarantolo said. “I’m elated; the only thing that I’m sorry about is that this hadn’t come sooner.”
Plans call for a new jughandle to be constructed at the intersection to allow drivers traveling east on Route 36 to access Route 35 north.
Construction of a new dual left-turn lane is included in the plans to allow vehicles traveling south on Route 35 to make a left turn onto Route 36.
The current layout of the intersection requires drivers to take a jughandle from Route 35 to Route 36, which can cause sig- nificant traffic delays.
The project will also realign eastbound Route 36 to alleviate the lane drop in the left lane, and a ramp will also be constructed to connect northbound Route 35 with eastbound Route 36.
Plans include adding acceleration and deceleration lanes on both roads, additional overhead and road-level signage, additional lighting, and shoulders and upgraded traffic signals for vehicles entering and exiting the Monmouth Mall.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic in the area will also see upgrades with the addition of crosswalks and sidewalks in the area of the mall.
The proposed traffic-pattern changes are not expected to negatively impact any businesses in the area.
The DOT is seeking to acquire land from parking lots behind the Macy’s Furniture and Fortunoff outlets on Route 35 to construct a road to connect Route 35 with Wall Street and Parker Boulevard.
Although the project is going out to bid, the DOT and the borough of Eatontown face a major hurdle with the project.
At issue is a lawsuit that is the result of the state’s desire to acquire a portion of the parking lot of the Macy’s Furniture building, located on Route 35 across from the Monmouth Mall, and a portion of the parking lot of the former Huffman Koos building, also located on Route 35.
In addition, the state sought to acquire additional land in the rear of the Macy’s Furniture parking lot to create a new connector road from Parker Avenue to Route 35.
To acquire the properties, the state exercised its power of eminent domain, which, in the case of the intersection redesign, would allow the state to take the property for public use in exchange for a fair marketvalue payment
The state previously reached an agreement with the owner of the Huffman Koos site but failed to reach an agreement with Robert Lutzker, the owner of the Macy’s Furniture property.
As a result, Lutzker filed a challenge to the state’s use of eminent domain, in state Superior Court.
In September, the court granted the DOT the right to acquire a section of Lutzker’s property through the use of eminent domain.
However, Lutzker has filed an appeal of the Superior Court’s eminent domain ruling.
The project is part of a federally funded statewide transportation improvement program, with the repairs to the roadways in Eatontown expected to cost $17 million.
The Eatontown project will extend east from Route 36 and Wyckoff Road to the Eatontown and Long Branch border, and north from the Route 35 traffic signal at the Monmouth Mall to Wyckoff Road.
The interchange upgrade is being financed through the federal government, Tarantolo explained, adding that the money has already been set aside for construction.
“It’s available; it was encumbered a year ago, and so we are sure that the funds are going to be in place for the project,” he said.
Contact Daniel Howley at
dhowley@gmnews.com.