Toms River Awarded $323K For Normandy Beach Road Elevation Work

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Toms River has been awarded $323,600 in state grant funding to help pay for a joint project with Brick Township to elevate streets in the Normandy Beach section to combat flooding.

The grant is part of $161.25 million in Municipal Aid grants announced statewide by Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday. The funding comes from the Transportation Trust Fund. There were awards to 543 cities and towns across New Jersey.

Under the Municipal Aid grant program, each county is given a share of the total funding based on population and the number of local centerline miles. Municipalities compete for portions of their county’s share. The state transportation department provides 75 percent of the grant amount when a town awards a contract and the remaining 25 percent upon completion of the project.

Toms River and Brick approved a shared services agreement in May for street elevation work to address persistent flooding of several streets in Normandy Beach, which spans the two towns.

The agreement includes seeking state funding to elevate Broad Street and 5th Avenue in Toms River, and Broad Street, 6th and 7th avenues in Brick.

Brick received a corresponding grant of $417,028 for its portion of the project.

"This project is a great example of two communities coming together to solve a common problem," Toms River Maurice Mayor "Mo" Hill said in May. "While this project will not stop all flooding, such as larger more intense storms like Superstorm Sandy, it will help minimize the frequency and depth of flooding during lesser intense storms and certain high tide events."

The design of the road elevation project and the construction estimate will be prepared by one of Tom River's engineering pool firms. Brick will have final review of plans before they are finalized. The cost of these services will be distributed proportionately between the two municipalities according to the total disturbed area in each community.

Toms River will be responsible for seeking bids and awarding the contract for the project. The shared services agreement went into effect on June 1 and ends when the completed project receives final approval from the state.

Click here to get Patch email notifications, or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Toms River Patch on Facebook.