MANALAPAN – A contract for the construction of the first phase of planned improvements on Tennent Road in Manalapan could be awarded in the spring of 2018.
A press release posted on Manalapan’s municipal website details Monmouth County’s plan to improve one of the township’s most heavily traveled roads. Tennent Road is designated as county Route 3.
The final design of the improvements, permitting and right of way acquisitions began this spring and are expected to continue through the fall of 2018, according to the press release.
County officials said that due to the length and scope of the project, the improvements will be constructed in three separate contracts to minimize the overall disruption to traffic on Tennent Road.
The project area is about 3 miles long, beginning at Millhurst Road (Route 527) and extending north to Tennent Road’s intersection with Kensington Drive and Woodland Circle.
County officials said the purpose of the project is to relieve congestion and improve the safety along Tennent Road for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians.
According to the press release, the county has plans to widen Tennent Road to provide a 36-foot-wide typical section south of the Craig Road intersection and a 40-foot-wide typical section north of the Craig Road intersection. These sections provide one 12-foot-wide travel lane and either a 6-foot or an 8-foot wide shoulder in either direction.
The preferred alternative includes the replacement of eight bridge/culvert structures, the installation and/or reconstruction of five intersections that have a traffic light, the reconstruction of an at grade railroad crossing, utility relocations, storm water management facilities and the design of additional features such as a guide rail, curbing, drainage and lighting, according to the press release.
Additional turning lanes, the upgrading/replacement of existing traffic signal equipment and traffic signal timing improvements are proposed at the Millhurst Road (Route 527), Freehold-Englishtown Road (Route 522), Craig Road and Taylors Mills Road intersections with Tennent Road. A new traffic signal is proposed at the intersection of Tennent Road and Church Lane, according to the press release.
There are eight county bridge/culvert structures within the project limits that are functionally obsolete due to inadequate deck geometry and narrow or substandard road widths. Two of the eight structures are also classified as structurally deficient due to low load ratings, according to the press release.
Four of the bridge/culvert structures will be replaced with precast three-sided rigid frames founded on cast in place footings supported by piles.
One structure, which has the longest span, will be replaced with a single-span bridge supported on standard concrete abutments, founded on piles.
Three structures are corrugated metal pipes that will be replaced with reinforced concrete pipes that will be sized to accommodate the design flows, according to the press release.
The project will disturb about 1.25 acres of freshwater wetlands and transition areas, requiring an individual permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection. New freshwater wetlands must be created at a 2:1 ratio in order to satisfy the mitigation requirements of the individual permit, according to the press release.
All of the regulated waterways within the project limits have riparian zones. Riparian zone mitigation is anticipated, which consists of replacing the cleared vegetation in kind at a ratio of 2:1, according to county officials.