Route 22 Projects Receive Federal, State Funding

Sen. Christopher “Kip” Bateman released a statement Thursday, praising state officials for the funding of several transportation projects affecting Somerset County, including improvements on Route 22.

“Fixing and upgrading our infrastructure is a public necessity for our region and an overall benefit for the state,” he said in a release. “These investments will make our roads, highways and bridges safer for families, generate business activity for local merchants and create hundreds of needed jobs during construction. I applaud [Gov. Chris Christie] for recognizing that these projects are a priority and for allocating adequate funding.”

On Thursday, the New Jersey Department of Transportation proposed a capital program for fiscal year 2012—which runs from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012—that provides $3.5 billion in the first year of a five-year plan toward prioritized projects, according to a release from the NJDOT. The plan provides for $2.3 billion for the NJDOT and about $1.2 billion for NJ Transit.

NJDOT spokesman Timothy Greeley said the funding is all broken down by state and federal funds, but there are various funding sources within those spectrums that are dedicated to certain projects.

“Renewing New Jersey isn’t just a slogan, it’s the produce of cohesive policies that attract businesses, create new jobs and control taxes,” Christie said in the release. “The significant investments in our roads, our bridges and our public transportation system contained in this capital program help us move toward our shared goal of rebuilding and renewing the great state of New Jersey.”

According to the release, state support from the Transportation Trust Fund and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey would equal $1.6 billion, with $978 million going to the NJDOT and $622 million to NJ Transit. Federal funds would be in the amount of $1.66 billion, with $1.17 billion going to the NJDOT and $497 million going to NJ Transit.

“The number of worthy projects always exceeds available resources for a given year, so we prioritize which projects receive funding,” Greeley said of the projects included in the year's plan. “We track the age and condition of our roads and bridges, and make decisions about when to advance a project based on that information.”

Greeley said the state also looks into projects that can be based on safety or other issues, not just those that fall into road or bridge categories.

“Safety projects, for example, can be part of larger capital projects or stand-along projects,” he said. “The standalone projects are, like road and bridge projects, data-driven. We track accident data and develop safety enhancement projects to address specific situations.”

“These efforts cover a wide range, including projects to create crosswalks, build sidewalks, create bike paths, redesign intersections or improve traffic-control devices,” he added.

And projects being funded for construction during the fiscal year, Greeley said, will start or continue at that time.

“Any projects being funded for construction in the fiscal year 2012 program would be starting construction within that time frame unless they are already in construction,” he said. “Larger projects are funded over multiple years.”

The most well-known project with its entire focus in Bridgewater is that for the . This set of funding, according to information from the NJDOT, will include short term improvements between Route 202/206 and Chimney Rock Road, and is looking to improve safety and eliminate bottle-necking in certain areas.

The project spans on Route 22 in Bridgewater between mileposts 33.88 and 37.14, and will be in the construction phase for fiscal year 2012, with a total of $7,977,000 allocated in two separate funds.

Also on Route 22 will be a project to complete the design and construction of a closed-loop system on Route 22 in conjunction with the intersections at Vosseller Avenue, Harding Road, Glenside Avenue, New Providence and the u-turn at milepost 49.47, all of which run through Bridgewater, Scotch Plains Township and Mountainside Borough.

This project, according to information from the NJDOT, will also include the installation of two closed-circuit television cameras, eight transmitters and other materials. Set to be in the construction phase, $2,764,000 has been allocated at this time.

One of the other projects set for Bridgewater and Bedminster, and with money set aside in the budget, is for improvements to the I-287 North and I-78 East interchange. In this project, ramps will be shifted from the current left-lane entrance onto I-287 North from I-78 East to a right-lane entrance for better exiting off the highway into Pluckemin.

According to information from the NJDOT, $2.5 million is set aside for this project, which will be in the design phase for the fiscal year.