Chorus Of Complaints Over Route 37/166 Work Delays Grows Louder

TOMS RIVER, NJ — "Be the squeaky wheel."

That's the message from the Downtown Toms River business development organization to businesses and Toms River residents frustrated by the slow pace of the road work at Routes 37 and 166.

The intersection has been undergoing project to widen it and reconfigure it to improve traffic flow in the area, a project that was several years in the making. The work started in late March 2016, but was shut down not long after it started when then-Gov. Chris Christie shut down transportation construction projects across the state during his push for a 23-cent increase in the gasoline tax.

The construction ban lasted for three months, until Christie and state lawmakers reached a deal that Christie signed Oct. 14, 2016.

Dan Triana, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said the construction ban had a significant impact on the $11.8 million project, part of which requires the relocation of natural gas service lines and water lines.

"Because of the shutdown, New Jersey Natural Gas moved on to other work," Triana said, "and only restarted its work in the summer of 2017." The relocation of the natural gas lines had to be done before the water lines, Triana said, and set the entire project back six months.

"All utility work needed to be completed before beginning other roadwork," he said Wednesday. That work is nearly done and construction crews have started the work to widen the southbound side of Route 166.

That should be completed by late spring, he said.

The roadwork forced the closure of the jughandle that carries traffic from Route 37 west to Route 166 south, and it has been closed since mid-November.

Triana said once the southbound side is complete, traffic will be shifted to the newly constructed road and work will begin to widen the northbound side. Once the northbound side is completed, the center median will be constructed.

"In addition, an approximately half-mile section of Route 37 eastbound will be resurfaced this spring from just west of Main Street/Route 166 to King Street," Triana said.

"When the project is completed, Route 166 will be doubled in size," he said, "from a single lane in each direction to two lanes in each direction. This, along with traffic signal upgrades, will ease congestion and ... there are improved pedestrian accommodations with new sidewalks and ADA-compliant ramps."

The entire project is expected to be completed at the end of this year, Triana said.

But it's the closure of the jughandle that has created so much frustration.

"A major corridor to downtown has literally been closed off" by the jughandle closure, the Downtown Toms River business group said on its Facebook page. "Business owners, residents, and anyone who passes through this area knows the Route 37 and Route 166 intersection is a mess. The completion of the road work needs to be a priority."

The business owners group is just the latest to publicly complain about the delays. Toms River Township officials have been pressing the state to hurry up, and the Ocean County Board of Freeholders has publicly criticized the DOT for the delays.

"Enough is enough," Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari said in a recent letter to Gov. Phil Murphy. "This project impedes the flow of traffic through one of the busiest areas of Toms River and we cannot wait until 2019 to see this work completed."

"This project was supposed to have been completed by now," Freeholder Director Gerry P. Little said in a recent news release. "While we understand that the majority of delays occurred prior to Governor Murphy taking office, we would ask that he do all he can to expedite the work."

The Downtown Toms River business group urged its members and town residents to contact lawmakers to keep the pressure on to get the project completed quickly.

"Our town and county officials have been super helpful in staying on top of the state and pushing to complete this project, which has taken far too long," the group's Facebook post said. "They are doing everything they can."

"It is time for our voices to be heard on this matter. Call your local representatives. Ask them to expedite this road work. Remind them that you vote," the post said.

"Be the squeaky wheel ... before our wheel falls off from all these darn potholes ..."

Image via Google Maps from August 2017