2 Basking Ridge Roads To Be Improved With 'Slurry Seal'

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The Somerset County Commissioners awarded a $1.5 million contract to expand the use of the "slurry seal" process on County roadways by 30 percent, including two roads that run through Basking Ridge.

"The slurry seal process is a significant improvement over milling and paving alone, reducing the cost of creating and maintaining safe roads for our taxpayers," said Deputy Director Melonie Marano, liaison to the Public Works Department. "After two years of using this process very successfully, in 2022 we are expanding the program to include thirteen miles of roadway in eight Somerset County municipalities."

Locally, County Route 640 Lyons Road in Bernards from Quincy Road to Stonehouse Road and County Route 613 Stonehouse Road in Bernards from South Finley/Lyons Road to Valley Road will be among those roadways to get the new coating.

The slurry seal coating is roughly the height of a quarter on its side, but extends the usable life of a roadway by as much as five years at a significantly lower cost than milling and paving, according to Somerset County.

"Slurry seal is used on roads that need maintenance but do not yet require full replacement and can extend the life of roadways by five years or more. Eventually all roads require milling and paving, but the use of slurry seal reduces long-term costs by extending the time between milling and paving projects while providing a new riding surface. As a result, the County decreases the overall cost of maintaining its 250 miles of roadway while keeping or improving roadway conditions," according to Somerset County.

The County added that the slurry seal process takes "significantly less time" than milling and paving, which will help reduce the impact on local drivers. The process still requires road closures, but those closures are done overnight to allow for reduced impact on commutes and daytime travel.

The dates for the work will be announced in the coming weeks, and all work in the contract will be completed in calendar year 2022. The specific roads included in the contract are:

• CR525 Claremont Road in Bernardsville from Rt.202 to Mendham Rd
• CR640 Lyons Road in Bernards from Quincy Road to Stonehouse Rd
• CR613 Stonehouse Road in Bernards from South Finley/Lyons Rd to Valley Rd
• CR647 Mendham Rd in Peapack Gladstone from County Line to CR512 Main Street
• CR512 Pottersville Rd/Main St in Peapack Gladstone from Route 206 to 1,000' south of Ramapo Way
• CR671 Old Chester Road in Peapack Gladstone from Brookside Drive to Dewey Ave
• CR527 Mountain Blvd in Watchung from Brookdale Rd to Watchung Circle
• CR653 Stirling Road in Watchung from Verona Pl. to Watchung Circle
• CR653 Stirling Road in Warren from County Line Bridge to Rt. 78 Bridge
• CR601 Belle Mead Blawenburg Road in Montgomery from Grandview Road to CR518
• CR533 Millstone River Rd/Main Street in Hillsborough/Millstone from Somerset Courthouse Road/Main Street to Blackwells Mills Road