FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – The Township Committee has voiced its support for the preliminary engineering transportation improvements plan for the Route 537 corridor between Sentinel Road and Route 9 in Freehold Township.
Sentinel Road is a residential street that is west of Iron Bridge Road and intersects with eastbound Route 537.
Committee members passed a resolution stating their support for the preliminary engineering plan on June 25.
In the resolution, the governing body said Route 537, which is a Monmouth County highway, is a major east-west transportation corridor serving regional travel needs between Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
The resolution states that the county engineer has determined a portion of Route 537 (West Main Street) is in need of operational and safety improvements, through a project federally funded under the Local Capital Project Delivery (LCPD) program administered by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA).
The first phase of the LCPD program, a Local Concept Development Study completed in 2013, resulted in a selection of a Preliminary Preferred Alternative (PPA) for transportation operational and safety improvements, and the PPA received Freehold Township’s support in 2013.
The project was advanced to the second phase of federally funded LCPD program, the Local Preliminary Engineering phase (LPE). Over time, refinements to the PPA were proposed to enhance traffic safety, and to better mitigate deficient levels of service and better accommodate all modes of transportation, including walking, bicycling, and public transit.
According to the resolution, county officials want to complete the LPE phase and proceed to the final design phase, the third phase of the LCPD program. In order for the county to qualify to receive federal funding for the final design phase, a resolution of support for the project was required from the Township Committee.
As previously reported, the issues and concerns on Route 537 between Sentinel Road and Route 9 include traffic operational deficiencies; safety deficiencies; substandard design elements; a lack of shoulders along the entire length; substandard auxiliary lane widths along exterior lanes; substandard vertical geometry at two locations; and few auxiliary lanes, deceleration lanes or shoulders for turning movements at intersections and at business and shopping complexes.
According to Monmouth County, the corridor has numerous conflicting access points that create traffic operational issues; insufficient shoulders or lack of outside shoulders for the entire length of road; no bicycle compatibility; and gaps in existing sidewalks.
The purpose of the proposed project is to improve traffic safety, reduce traffic congestion and provide better accommodations for various modes of transportation along the Route 537 corridor, according to county representatives. The goal is to minimize traffic signal congestion, especially at peak times, and to address the high incidence of motor vehicle collisions.