MONROE – Monroe Township will receive a state grant for its Spotswood-Gravel Hill Road – Roadway and Pedestrian Improvements project.
Municipal officials announced the township has secured $327,480 from the 2022 New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) municipal aid program.
“This section of road needs some upgrading and we are pleased to be able to make the necessary improvements with support from the state DOT,” Mayor Stephen Dalina was quoted as saying in an Oct. 28 press release.
“We are thankful to our legislators, including Sen. (Linda) Greenstein (D-14) and assemblymen Wayne DeAngelo and Daniel Benson (D-14), for supporting our efforts to secure these funds,” the mayor said.
The funding will be used to construct road and pedestrian improvements along Spotswood-Gravel Hill Road from Eric Court to Benny Lane.
The scope of work primarily includes restoration of the road, milling, paving, signs, guide rail upgrades, minor drainage improvements and the installation of additional sidewalk for pedestrian accessibility, according to the press release.
A total of $161 million in funding has been awarded to 541 municipalities to facilitate road, bridge and other transportation-related improvements.
All nine municipalities in Legislative District 14 – which also includes parts of Mercer and Monmouth counties – were approved for the grant program and will receive a total of $4.5 million in Fiscal Year 2022 municipal aid grants, officials said.
“I am pleased that so many municipalities throughout our district and the rest of the state are receiving the funding they need to make critical improvements to their transportation infrastructure,” said Benson, chair of the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee.
“This money will go toward improving pedestrian safety as well as resurfacing, extending and preserving local roads; all of which are worthwhile projects that will benefit the lives of countless residents,” he said.
The DOT’s Municipal Aid Program is a competitive program intended to provide municipalities with transportation-based grants to supplement their transportation programs, officials said.
Each fiscal year, the DOT issues a solicitation announcement to municipalities inviting them to apply for funding for their specific project needs. Projects are presented to a screening committee comprised of municipal engineers and DOT staff appointed by Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti.
The committee evaluates the projects presented and makes recommendations to the commissioner for consideration and approval.
DOT provides 75% of the grant amount when municipal officials award a contract and the remaining 25% upon completion of the project.
This is not the first time Monroe has received funds through the DOT’s municipal aid program.
In February, Monroe secured $609,250 from the program for municipal road improvements on North State Home Road, Lower Matchaponix Avenue and a section of Spotswood-Gravel Hill Road.
Dalina noted the state has more than doubled its municipal local aid to Monroe since 2016.