Oceanport and Monmouth County will make improvements to Oceanport Avenue (Route 11) and Main Street. Image courtesy Google Maps
By Allison Perrine | aperrine@tworivertimes.com
OCEANPORT – A well-trafficked Oceanport intersection will get a makeover in the coming months in order to become more efficient and pedestrian friendly.
The borough, in conjunction with Monmouth County engineers, will make improvements to the intersection of Oceanport Avenue (Route 11) and Main Street. The work will include sidewalk realignments, roadway tightening, drainage system improvements, signal modifications and dedicated left-turn lanes for all approaches, officials told The Two River Times March 20.
According to Oceanport Borough engineer William H. White III, the signal on the light timer must be upgraded due to damage from Super Storm Sandy. The signal was on a timer and “wasn’t sensing the traffic movements.” Once that is adjusted, everything must be updated, he added. “The whole entire intersection.”
Pedestrian safety was also important when considering an update to the intersection, which is located near Oceanport Creek. There is currently a 90-foot crosswalk, without pavement, which is particularly dangerous for the elderly or people with strollers, White said. It’s a “significant distance” and officials were concerned about future pedestrian fatalities.
“That is a long way to go without a place to stop to go across the street there. We’re really, I think, trying to be proactive here, realizing that there’s going to be additional pedestrian traffic going forward,” said Mayor Jay Coffey, noting that more people will be moving into Oceanport as projects are completed at the former Fort Monmouth site.
The borough went out to bid for the work Feb. 13 and accepted the lowest responsible bidder, Earle Asphalt Company of Farmingdale, for $1.18 million. In response, the county gave the borough an additional $687,876 toward the construction work, totaling nearly $1 million in funds from the county toward the project. The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved the funding increase at its March 12 meeting.
Some people are concerned with the plan. At the Feb. 20 council meeting, resident Frank Barricelli said he was concerned it will narrow the traffic lanes, tighten the turns and prevent drivers from making right-hand turns on red.
The intersection improvement follows additional work on Oceanport roads. This year work was completed on Monmouth Boulevard and on Myrtle Avenue from Monmouth Boulevard to Port Au Peck Avenue. This included drainage work, sidewalk improvements and road repaving, with help from Monmouth County.
The article originally appeared in the March 26- April 1, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
