For
Immediate Release:
May 12, 2020
Monmouth
County awarded $31 million in federal funding for Rumson–Sea Bright Bridge
replacement
County awarded
$800k for Laurel Avenue project
FREEHOLD, NJ – Monmouth
County received North Jersey Transportation
Planning Authority (NJTPA) Board approval of additional $31 million in federal
funding for the replacement of the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge and $800,000 in
federal funding for a study of Laurel Avenue in Holmdel.
“I am happy to report the NJTPA
Board approval of the additional funding necessary for our much needed
replacement of the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge. We are finalizing our contract
documents to replace a current movable bridge with a new movable bridge structure
relocated to the south and anticipate being ready for construction by the end
of this year,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the
Monmouth County Public Works and Engineering Department who represents the
County on the NJTPA Board of Trustees. “With NJTPA programming the additional
$31 million, this bridge replacement project will be fully federally funded in
the amount of $104 million.”
The projects are among four throughout the region that the
North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) Board of Trustees
approved at its May 11 meeting. The two separate
projects are as follows:
- Rumson-Sea
Bright Bridge (S 32) carries CR 520, Rumson Road, across the Shrewsbury
River between the Boroughs of Rumson and Sea Bright. This bridge serves as
one of two evacuation and emergency routes in times of tidal flooding and coastal
storms. The existing aging structure is at the end of its service life and
requires complete replacement. Monmouth County is proposing a movable
structure to replace the current structure, $31,000,000.
- Laurel Avenue (CR 52)
serves residents of Holmdel and Middletown townships as a major connection
between the Garden State Parkway and State Route 35, where there is
significant commercial activity. There is a pinch point at the
grade-separated intersection of South Laurel Avenue and the NJ TRANSIT
North Jersey Coast Line between Commons Way and Continental Boulevard in
the study area. There are also vertical clearance issues with the railroad
bridge. The study will identify the project purpose and need as well as
assess various alternatives in an effort to identify a preliminary
preferred alternative through coordination with various stakeholders and
the public, $800,000.
“This NJ Transit bridge on Laurel
Avenue has a low vertical clearance (12’-5”) and routinely gets hit by trucks
traveling along County Route 52 (Laurel Avenue). Subsequently, the bridge is in
a substandard condition,” said Freeholder Director Arnone. “The purpose of this
study is to develop and assess various alternatives for this grade separated
railroad crossing and we will be working closely with NJ Transit and NJDOT for
potential improvements.”
The NJTPA is the federally authorized Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) for 6.7 million people in the 13-county northern New Jersey
region. Each year, the NJTPA oversees more than $2 billion in transportation
improvement projects and provides a forum for interagency cooperation and
public input. It also sponsors and conducts studies, assists county planning
agencies and monitors compliance with national air quality goals.
The NJTPA Board consists of 15 local elected officials
representing 13 counties (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex,
Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren) and the
cities of Newark and Jersey City. The Board also includes a governor’s
representative, the New Jersey Department of Transportation commissioner, the
NJ TRANSIT executive director, the chairman of the Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey and a citizen’s representative appointed by the governor.
# # #