def # 80 05/30/12
COUNTY TO AWARD CONTRACT FOR VETERANS BOULEVARD WORK
TOMS RIVER - The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders is expected to award a contract to C.J. Hesse Inc., for the
reconstruction of a portion of Veterans Boulevard in Berkeley Township.
"We anticipate the work to be underway in just a few weeks," said Freeholder James. F. Lacey, who serves as liaison to
the Ocean County Road Department. "This project will provide needed improvements to this roadway and make it safer for
the motoring public."
The contract amount is $1,669,669 which is about $200,000 less than the estimated cost of the project. The county
received nine bids on the project with the contract going to the lowest qualified bidder C.J. Hesse Inc., Belford.
More than 4,300 feet of the road near Exit 77 on the Garden State Parkway will be reconstructed and widened from
Western Boulevard to Grand Central Parkway.
A second eastbound lane will be added as well as wider shoulders, increasing the shoulder size from 3 feet to 6 feet.
The horizontal and vertical curves of the roadway will also be improved to provide better sight distances and safer
conditions.
"This is an important access road to the Garden State Parkway in the central part of Berkeley Township," Lacey
said.
Lacey said the safety improvements are also important because of the large number of students and school buses that
travel to nearby Central Regional High School.
"This is a heavily traveled roadway," he noted. "This project encompasses upgrading many features of this roadway from
shoulder widening to improving sight distances."
The project also includes a totally upgraded drainage system with 2,300 feet of storm drainpipe, 25 drain structures
and two stormwater infiltration basins.
"The new basins meet or exceed the state Department of Environmental Protection’s stringent water quality standards to
protect Barnegat Bay," said Freeholder Director Gerry P. Little.
Construction is expected to begin following the end of school in June and be completed by the end of the year.
"We hope to have most of the heavy work done before school starts in September," Lacey said.
The Board is expected to formally award the contract during its June 6 meeting.
