New patterns lessen traffic on Chambers Bridge Rd., Rte. 70

So far, so good. That pretty much sums up the first two weeks of major changes in traffic patterns at the intersection of Route 70 and Chambers Bridge Road.

"It just takes a little while to get used to it," police Capt. John E. Rein Jr. said.

Police are issuing warnings to people who still try to make left turns at the intersection.

"We do have people still making lefthand turns, even with all the signs and message boards," Rein said. "If there's an officer out there, we are stopping people and warning them. We're not enforcing any illegal left turns yet. There's a 30-day period, just as a warning time."

The traffic changes went into effect on June 24.

"We held a collective breath," Rein said. "We coordinated with the county and engineers to make sure all of the little pieces of the puzzle going to be changed were done in a timely manner, so we were all on the same page."

Drivers can no longer make left-hand turns from Chambers Bridge Road onto Route 70 east or west. Drivers who want to access Route 70 east from southbound Chambers Bridge road now go to the intersection of Chambers Bridge and Brick Boulevard, then make a left onto Brick Boulevard out to Route 70. The change hasn't led to a build-up of traffic on Brick Boulevard, Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis said.

Drivers who want to get on Route 70 west from northbound Chambers Bridge use the U-turn on Ovation Way.

The changes mean traffic on Chambers Bridge Road now travels north and south simultaneously. That increases the green-light time on both highways and allows more cars to travel through the intersections before the lights change.

Acropolis asked Birdsall Engineering, the township's traffic engineer, to conduct a traffic study about nine months ago to see if the simple plan would work. Birdsall examined traffic flow and counts on Route 70, Chambers Bridge Road, Cedar Bridge Avenue and Brick Boulevard.

"I came up with the idea, but they are the ones who did the work," the mayor said. "I'm thrilled this one worked."

Engineers ruled out more expensive fixes, like widening the roadway or overpasses because of the cost.

"Everybody wants to throw money at problems," Acropolis said. "Sometimes the best solutions are the ones staring you right in the face."

The Ocean County Engineering Department and the state Department of Transportation signed off on the project, which was supposed to start June 23. But the DOT put a last-minute hold on the project the Friday before it was supposed to start, much to the mayor's chagrin.

Acropolis and state Sen. Andrew W. Ciesla (R-10th District, Ocean) manned the phones the following Monday, urging the DOT not to stall on the project. DOT officials relented and it was back on for June 24, the mayor said.

"It's hard to get people to pull the trigger," Acropolis said. "People don't want to make decisions."

Acropolis credits Ciesla for getting the project back on track.

"Senator Ciesla played a big part," he said. "If it weren't for the senator getting involved… that's what a good senator does."

Rein said some motorists are still trying shortcuts that are causing minor problems. Some drivers who are traveling southbound on Chambers Bridge Road who want to go west on Route 70 are cutting through Brick Plaza to get to Route 70, which increases the chances of accidents and adds to congestion in the parking lot, he said.

"Don't use the Plaza as a cut-through," Rein said. "Go down to Ovation Way and use the jughandle to come back."

Other drivers are turning off Chambers Bridge Road onto residential Salmon Street to get onto Route 70, he said.

"We ask people to use the main roads at the jughandle and not utilize the neighborhood roads," Rein said.

The traffic pattern change is one of several "break-out" projects initiated by the Township Council and administration since 2005. The township fronts the money and hopes the state will reimburse the costs.