NJDOT
starts $144 million road resurfacing program
Targets
roads with most potholes for largest
resurfacing program in department
history
(Trenton)
- With the arrival
of spring finally upon us, the New Jersey Department of Transportation
(NJDOT) has initiated an aggressive, $144 million road re-surfacing
program across the state to combat potholes and poor driving surfaces,
according to Commissioner Jack Lettiere. The program targets state
highways that have been most susceptible to potholes. The department
will have allocated $70 million toward road resurfacing projects
by the end of this spring alone; an additional $74 million will
be awarded before the end of the construction season.
“Potholes
and poor road surfaces cause aggravation, increase driving hazards
and impose the high costs of vehicle repair on us all.
Resurfacing these roads and highways will allow for safer, smoother,
and less stressful travel, further improving the quality of life
for every one,” said Acting Governor Richard J. Codey.
“This
was a very difficult winter and we are seeing evidence of it by
the number of potholes on our roadways. We have repaired
over 120,000 this year and there is still much work to be done,”
noted Lettiere. “Pothole repairs are only band-aids on
the problem; in order truly get relief from potholes and poor
driving surfaces roadways need to be resurfaced. This is our most
extensive effort to date.”
The
program will focus attention and resources on the task of optimizing
roadway quality and safety in New Jersey, by milling and replacing
2-6 inches of pavement surface asphalt in areas where road conditions
are presently sub-standard and prone to potholes. The concentrated
effort to repair deficient roads will commence in April and continue
through the fall of this year.
Ongoing
needs assessments of road surface quality are conducted by NJDOT's
state of the art Pavement Management System, which generates and
prioritizes the list of roads to be resurfaced.
See
list (pdf 70k)
