Colts Neck Roundabout To Feature Bronze Horse Statue

2078

 By Joseph Sapia

     
COLTS NECK – A horse is expected to be trotted into a traffic circle sometime in the spring.
A bronze horse statue, about 6-1/2 feet tall and about 9-1/2 feet long, will be the focal feature of the traffic roundabout at the intersection of Dutch Lane, Crine Road and Heulitt Road, also known as the intersection of Monmouth County Routes 4 and 46.
“The horse is symbolic of what many of us think as Colts Neck,” said Lillian G. Burry, a township resident who sits on the county Board of Freeholders, nodding to Colts Neck’s farming roots.
The approximately $1.3 million county project includes an internal main feature intended to alert drivers not to drive straight through the intersection, but around the circle of the roundabout.
Federal Department of Transportation guidelines say a focal feature could enhance community heritage or represent local culture – in this case, Colts Neck’s name and its horse farm tradition.
The central feature of the Route 520 roundabout at Brookdale Community College in Middletown is three flag poles and flags of the United States, New Jersey, and the county.
In Colts Neck, “The original proposal was for a prominent feature, a large holly tree or statue,” said County Engineer Joseph M. Ettore. “One of the statues considered was a horse.”
After discussion among county and township officials, a 20-foot-tall American holly won out, he said. But the county held off planting the tree when the roundabout opened May 29, because the tree may not have survived summer, so temporary evergreens were planted.
But before the American holly could be planted this spring, the horse came back into the picture and the county Board of Freeholders approved it in November.
The cost of a holly is $2,200, and the horse is estimated at $14,000, according to those involved. Burry said the horse – being obtained at cost from the local Brock Farms Home and Garden World – will have more permanence than the holly tree.
“(The horse is) certainly representative of Colts Neck and it’s practical, too,” Burry said.
“The horse is king in this town,” Burry said. “I used to say, ‘We’re tough on people, but a horse can get away with anything out here.’”
The horse is scheduled for installation in the spring, or after wintry weather ends, Burry said. The horse in stock at Brock Farms is damaged and a replacement is not expected until the end of March, said owner Ed Brock Jr. The current horse could go up temporarily or the roundabout could wait for the replacement horse, Brock said.
The roundabout is meant to calm down traffic, Ettore said. “The difference between a roundabout and a circle is antiquated circles allowed for a through movement,” Ettore said. “One of the approach roads had the right of way. On a roundabout, all approaches must yield to traffic in the roundabout.”
The roads don’t meet at right angles, and safety concerns over the “awkward geometry” of the intersection prompted construction of the roundabout, Ettore said.
Brock, who has lived his whole life near the roundabout location said, “it’s much easier now” to maneuver the intersection.
“I think it’s beautiful what they did there,” Brock said. “I think it’s an asset to the town.”