Brick driving will be smoother in a few years BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer BRICK TOWNSHIP - Motorists will find it a little easier to maneuver through traffic-choked intersections here soon. Bid specifications will be completed within the next several weeks for improvements on the left-turn lane at the Chambers Bridge Road/Route 70 intersection near the Tile Place and the left-turn lane at the Route 70/Brick Boulevard intersection near the old Foodtown site, said Council President Stephen C. Acropolis. "For the first time in history, we have actually dedicated capital project money to upgrade Route 70," he said. "We hope to get reimbursed. This will give us plenty of time to award bids and start working on the projects before the winter comes." The left-turn lanes at both intersections have room for only about five or six cars, Acropolis said. "People stack up the cars and block the through traffic, so people can't go through," Acropolis said. With the improvements, more people would be able to make the left turns, he said. "These two projects are not end-alls, but they are progress," he said. "The buck stops here. This council has done something about it." Township officials talked to the state Department of Transportation for years about improvements on the state highway running through Brick's retail corridor. They were told there wasn't enough money and the DOT couldn't get to the projects for 12 to 15 years, Acropolis said. "It's all about performance," Acropolis said. "If you can't get this stuff done in a timely manner, we will get somebody who will. That was unacceptable to us." The projects are two of six "break-out" road improvement projects included in a $2 million capital improvement bond ordinance. Brick also got some more good news from the state and county recently. Garden State Parkway Interchange 91 will be upgraded to a full interchange with both northbound and southbound en- trances and exit ramps. The current Exit 91 allows only northbound traffic to enter the parkway, while only southbound traffic can exit. The price tag for the improvements, which include construction and property costs, is around $28 million. Most of the money will come from the federal government and the N.J. Turnpike Authority. Construction on the project is expected to begin sometime in 2011. "Anytime you can have a full interchange put in, that's a positive," Acropolis said. "It will help traffic. It takes people off township roads and puts them on main travel roads." Most people use the parkway right now just to get to different places in Brick. The changes include: • A new northbound entrance ramp from Burnt Tavern Road and Lanes Mill Road, with access to the park-and-ride lot on the east side of the Parkway. • A second northbound entrance ramp for vehicles traveling eastbound on Burnt Tavern Road. The ramp will also allow access from Burrsville Road. The existing northbound ramp will be eliminated. • A new northbound exit ramp that will link the Parkway and Burrsville Road. • A new southbound exit ramp for traffic heading west on Burnt Tavern Road. • A second southbound entrance ramp to link Lanes Mill Road with the Parkway. Herborn Avenue would be extended south and east to Lanes Mill Road, where it would meet the new entrance ramp at a signaled intersection. • Parkway south traffic could exit at the existing ramp or continue under the Burnt Tavern Road bridge and use a new ramp that will connect with Lanes Mill Road at a second new signaled interchange.