Politics & Government

Township Moves To Repave Part of Ramshorn Drive

State grant will pay for needed improvements to road

The Township Committee plans to make the first moves toward paving a pockmarked stretch of Ramshorn Drive at its regular meeting next week, officials said Wednesday.

The committee is scheduled to adopt a bond ordinance for the money to pave Ramshorn Drive from Lakewood Road to Allen Way – a ½-mile portion of the South Wall road that was damaged in the 2010 winter storms.

Earlier this year, Wall was awarded a $160,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation to resurface the road. The money has to be appropriated first and will be paid back with the grant money, Township Administrator Joe Verruni said.

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Verruni said the township hopes to go out to bid on the project, start the project in July and have it wrapped up in August.

“It can’t happen fast enough,’’ Committeeman Todd Luttman said.

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The grant money is the township’s share of a $78.75 million Municipal Aid grant program that will be doled out for 370 projects statewide to improve roads and road safety.  In total, 35 Monmouth County towns received $6.6 million, according to a DOT release.

The plan is to resurface the length of Ramshorn Drive, officials have said, spread out over several phases to absorb the fiscal impact.

Under the grant program, each county is apportioned a share of the total funding based on population, the number of local road miles and other factors. Municipalities compete for portions of their county’s share, according to the release.

The DOT provides 75 percent of the grant amount when a town awards a contract and the remaining 25 percent upon completion of the project, the release said.

The DOT received 677 applications requesting more than $246 million for the 2011 projects, according to the release.

Verruni said township officials have fielded numerous complaints about Ramshorn Drive, and it will be months before the road is finished.

 “The good news is we have the money, it’s going to be appropriated and it will get done,’’ Verruni said.


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