Major changes in store for Rte. 70 & Chambers Bridge Rd.

Relief is on the way for motorists tired of waiting for the lights to change on traffic-choked Route 70 and Chambers Bridge Road in Brick Township.

"We've had traffic problems on Route 70 for many, many, many years," Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis said at the June 9 Township Council meeting. "Traffic on Route 70 is still not good because it clogs up at Chambers Bridge Road and Route 70."

Some major but relatively inexpensive changes are slated to begin June 23. Drivers will no longer be able to make left-hand turns from Chambers Bridge Road onto Route 70 east or west, the mayor said.

Instead, drivers who want to access Route 70 east from southbound Chambers Bridge Road will have to go to the intersection of Chambers Bridge Road and Brick Boulevard. Motorists who want to get on Route 70 west from northbound Chamber Bridge Road will have to use the U-turn on Ovation Way.

The traffic on Chambers Bridge Road will now be able to travel north and south simultaneously. That will increase the time the lights stay green on both highways and will allow more cars to travel through the intersections before the lights change, he said.

The changes are the results of extensive traffic studies conducted by Birdsall Engineering, which examined traffic flow and traffic counts on Route 70, Chambers Bridge Road, Cedar Bridge Avenue and Brick Boulevard.

Birdsall engineers ruled out a number of fixes, including widening the roadway and overpasses because of the cost, vice president Frank Miskovich said during a presentation at the council meeting.

Those options would be "a massive undertaking, massive costs," he said.

In the end, Birdsall decided the least expensive solution would be the best, Miskovich said.

"We really came down to one solution that quite honestly shocked us," he said.

The traffic pattern changes have the blessings of both Ocean County Engineer Frank Scarantino and the state Department of Transportation, Acropolis said.

Police officers will be on the scene to monitor the roadways when the changes take place. Roadways will be striped and the township and county will also provide a number of signs, Acropolis said.

The light bars on the traffic signals that are now used as left-turn signal arrows will instead direct motorists to go straight through the intersection, the mayor said.

"We'll have people out there; we'll have police officers out there when it gets implemented," Acropolis said. "It's a matter of educating our residents. It's an educational process we are embarking on."

The township has footed the bill for four "break-out" projects on Route 70 over the past several years to improve traffic flow. The township extended the left-turn lanes on Route 70 west to Chambers Bridge Road and at Route 70 west to Brick Boulevard. A Do-Not-Block-the-Box area was designated and striped at the intersection of Route 70 and Brick Boulevard.

Township officials are hoping that the DOT will eventually reimburse Brick for the break-out project costs, Acropolis said.

The new project will coincide with the DOT's reconfiguration of the intersection on Route 70 and Cedar Bridge Road. The state is currently reconstructing the intersection and motorists will no longer be able to make a left turn from Route 70 west to Cedar Bridge Road.