Municipal officials received a boost for a plan to revitalize Toms River’s downtown district when it was announced that a $5.6 million grant for the Herflicker Boulevard Loop has been received.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Toms River the grant.
According to officials in the township’s Planning Department, the grant will cover the costs to design and construct the project. A start date for construction has not been provided.
Officials said the project will create a loop between the Garden State Parkway and the waterfront business district by elevating and reconstructing Herflicker Boulevard as a one-way complete street, converting Water Street to a one-way complete street, and improving and upgrading connecting roads.
“Hopefully, this is just another step in redoing the downtown area,” Township Council President Brian Kubiel said.
The grant was provided through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Grants program that supports road, rail, transit and port infrastructure projects across the United States.
“This project has been a priority for the township for a year and now we have full funding to complete these needed improvements. Toms River was the only community in New Jersey to receive a BUILD grant,” Mayor Thomas Kelaher said.
Municipal officials said the project will improve traffic circulation, reduce the number of turning movements at intersections and add pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. The project will upgrade the road and elevate Herflicker Boulevard to limit flooding.
Following the improvements, Herflicker Boulevard will be able to be used as an evacuation route during flood events.
“We are really moving the ball forward on improvements in town,” council Vice President George Wittmann said.
The project improves multi-modal connectivity (a network of links) to the waterfront district, which is planned for redevelopment.
Toms River competed with 851 eligible applications from all 50 states, as well as U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), this year’s applications were nearly double the number of applications received in 2017.
DOT officials said overall, applicants in 2018 requested more than $10.9 billion in funding.
Rutala Associates, Linwood, a planning firm, was retained by municipal officials earlier this year to help pursue the grant.
DOT officials said project applications were evaluated by a team of 222 career staff at the department and selected based on established criteria. The criteria included safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, environmental protection, and state of good repair.