$110 Million Project Set to Begin to Remove the Only Three Traffic Signals on Garden State Parkway
All three lights are in Cape May County.
The Garden State Parkway is on its way to becoming completely free of traffic signals.
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner and New Jersey Turnpike Authority Chairman James Simpson and Congressman Frank LoBiondo joined other elected officials at a groundbreaking ceremony announcing the removal of all three traffic signals on the Garden State Parkway on Feb. 4.
The signals will be removed via a $110 million project to be performed by the Richard E. Pierson Construction Company, out of Pilesgrove. Pierson Construction was the lowest of four bidders, according to NJDOT.
Federal funding secured by LoBiondo in the amount of $32 million, along with $78 million from the Turnpike Authority's 10-year capital program will help pay for the project, according to NJDOT.
About 26 forested acres of land will be impacted by the project, according to NJDOT. Under the New Jersey No Net Loss Reforestation Act, the state is required to replace any trees removed during construction.
New trees can be replanted on about 20 acres of land, and the Turnpike Authority will pay $382,500 to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to plant and maintain trees on an additional 6.25 acres of public land not located in the project area.
The Turnpike Authority will also be spending $5 million to restore, preserve or enhance over 38 acres of wetlands area in Cape May County in response to 4.62 acres of freshwater wetlands and 2.37 acres of tidal wetlands that will be impacted by the project, NJDOT said.
The three traffic signals are located at Parkway interchanges at interchanges 9 (Shell Bay Avenue), 10 (Stone Harbor Boulevard) and 11 (Crest Haven Road) in Cape May County. They are the only three signals on the toll road, which spans 172 miles.The traffic signals have been in place since the 1940's, and were incorporated into the Parkway when the road opened in 1954, according to NJDOT.
The goal of the project is to improve safety, Guadagno said.
“Traffic lights have no place on a busy highway like the Garden State Parkway, and there has been nearly unanimous agreement that the lights at these three Cape May County intersections near the southern end of the Parkway needed to go," Guadagno said. "By finally making this project a reality, we will save lives. We will make the Parkway and the local roads safer and less congested for the people who live and work in Cape May County and for the citizens of New Jersey and all those who depend on these roads to get safely to their favorite shore towns.”
The project will see three bridges built, one at each interchange. Ramps will also be constructed at all three interchanges, in an effort to provide continuous access between the Parkway and local roads.
“Three people have died in crashes at these traffic lights just since the preliminary design for this project began in 2004,” Simpson said. “It’s time to get this project done and get those traffic lights out of there. When a problem with a wetlands mitigation site last year looked like it might delay construction, we promised to do whatever we had to be in a position to award the contract in December and get the work underway by early this year. I’m happy to say we were able to do that.”
“This important project is one of several major capital investments the Turnpike Authority is making on the Garden State Parkway in South Jersey,” Turnpike Authority Executive Director Ronnie Hakim said. “The Authority is spending nearly $700 million, or about 10 percent of its capital program budget, just on projects in Cape May and Atlantic Counties. That work is creating jobs, relieving congestion and making the Parkway safer.”
The project is expected to take about two years, and will begin with the relocation of utilities and the construction of a temporary diversion road parallel to the northbound side of the Parkway, according to NJDOT.
The diversion road is expected to completed in about three months, and will carry traffic for the duration of the project, according to NJDOT.
Mac
9:33 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
NJ, say goodbye to the Summer of 2013. The activities at the Jersey Shore will be strictly hit or miss at best. Monmouth and Ocean County shorelines have been redesigned by Hurricane Sandy and they won't be habitable or available for more than a handful of the normal summer visitors/residents. Some rides and boardwalks may be rebuilt and open, but there is no place for most of the summer visitors/residents to stay. Atlantic City, well, let's just say AC has never missed an opportunity to shoot itself in the foot and make other places look more attractive. I think it has something to do with greed and corruption. Now, the Parkway will be reconstructing the only major roadway in Cape May County that leads to the Wildwoods and the Cape Mays, thus spreading the normal summer gridlock more evenly throughout the county. No matter how one looks at it, it's a lose/lose package, and not just for this summer. Many tourists will choose the go elsewhere this summer to vacation, and as such, may like where they go very much and never give NJ another thought. And worse, many tourists will experience a nightmare of a vacation due to the lack of vacation accommodations and not only won't be coming back but will be talking about it and discouraging others from coming here also. While it appears Ocean City may have a solo record-breaking season, the rest of the shore will suffer greatly. Having waited 10 years so far, do you think this is the best time to build $110M bridges to nowhere?
Chris W
10:35 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Well, if your gloom and doom forecast is correct ( which I completely doubt,) now is the PERFECT time to do this since traffic will be reduced and fewer inconvenienced. Also, can you pls explain how bridges connecting pieces of the Parkway lead to "nowhere?" Do you claim that same thing for the Parkway's other bridges, or are you implying that Cape May is "nowhere?"
Mac
3:21 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
I wouldn’t be disappointed at all if my 'gloom and doom' forecast is proven to be incorrect. I suspect many beaches, boardwalks, rides and seasonal businesses will be up and running to some extent and I wish them much success. The more local people employed the better. However, while day trippers are nice, they don't enhance the local economy nearly as well as vacationing tourist/summer residents. And there is currently nowhere in Monmouth and Ocean Counties for vacationers to stay in great numbers. After all, we can't even house the tens of thousands of displaced residents we currently have right now within our communities. Atlantic and Cape May Counties survived the hurricane much better and have the best opportunity to enhance this summer’s NJ tourist season. Putting up unnecessary roadblocks during this troublous period of time is foolhardy. Just trying to get down the Parkway currently during morning rush hour with traffic being reduced unannounced to one lane is already bad enough with the unnecessary delays that are being thoughtlessly or indifferently imposed. Commencing with this project at this time is both unnecessary and economically intimidating to the summer tourist season. After over 10 years of discussions, why start these projects at the worst time of year for the county’s economy when waiting until after Labor Day to start redesigning the landscape is in the best interest of local summer employments? Next, the bridge to ‘nowhere.’
Mac
3:43 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
What job do you have with the Turnpike? A bridge to 'nowhere' is a bridge built for $35M+ so perhaps 100 rather well-to-do homes within a 3-block area and vehicles for an 8-parking space fishing pier aren’t inconvenienced by waiting at a traffic light for a minute or so. Besides, there is a well-paved bypass road alongside of the Parkway that goes in either direction from Shell Bay Ave. to other Parkway crossings a short distance away, both with and without traffic lights. A road to ‘nowhere’ is across Crest Haven Rd. This semi-circle road is mostly for Cape May County buildings and institutions. If the county wants a $35M+ bridge there, let them build it, not the Parkway commuters. The traffic light and left turn lanes have worked well since the beginning and almost all of the traffic that crosses the Parkway does so during the daytime, Monday through Friday. There’s no other big reason to go there. The zoo traffic turning north is rarely in significant numbers. The only practical and perhaps astute bridge to build would be at the Stone Harbor Blvd. intersection; if not now, then in the future. During the summer months, it may help improve the flow of traffic, but the rest of the year the left turn lanes have served very well. Priorities have changed for NJ in the past 3+ months. We have enough rebuilding to do as it is. We don’t need nice but unnecessary bridges to take up any available government money at this time.
Ted paul
3:46 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Just another waste of taxpayer money !! Last time I heard cape may was doing just fine !!! I never had problem with lights and really how much time will it save!!!Just look up the pkwy to see the waste and abuse on the bridges and clearing and widening of section 63 south to Mullica bridge it's a death trap!!! I could drive it daily but refuse and take rt 9..when ever possible!!!
Tnecniv Niuqelra
4:46 pm on Sunday, March 17, 2013
COOL DOODE