Carteret, NJ – Mayor Daniel J. Reiman has joined with Council President Jorge Diaz to announce that $301,000 in funding has been awarded to the Borough of Carteret by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, through their FY 2012 Department of Transportation Local Aid program. The funding will facilitate improvements to the intersection at the base of the West Carteret Bridge.
The project will call for major reconstruction of the Roosevelt Avenue / Minue Street / Post Boulevard intersection at the base of the Turnpike bridge in West Carteret. When completed, the $3.1 million project will result in significant widening of the intersection and clearly defined, dedicated turning lanes that will ease the traffic congestion that has plagued the area for decades.
Work is expected to begin by the Fall of 2012, and be completed by Winter 2014.
The D.O.T.’s Transportation Trust Fund has become a major source of funding throughout New Jersey for needed infrastructure improvements that would otherwise be a considerable strain on local taxpayers. The Carteret portion of Roosevelt Avenue is a 3.75 mile stretch of county roadway which runs through Carteret from Rahway to Port Reading. The roadway is both residential and commercial, hosting the Borough’s business corridors as well as churches and public institutions such as the Columbus Elementary School. The majority of Roosevelt Avenue’s traffic occurs at the Turnpike Interchange 12, through the West Carteret commercial and light industrial districts.
“As a working class town, and a crossroads for industry, Carteret has an infrastructure that undergoes a disproportionate amount of stress,” Mayor Reiman commented. “Funding from the N.J. Department of Transportation plays a big part in our ability to keep our roads functional, and relieves the undue tax burden our residents would otherwise have to endure. We are especially grateful to Assemblyman Wisniewski who recognized the need for Roosevelt Avenue improvements, and who was instrumental in helping to secure this award through the NJ Department of Transportation.”
“The NJ Department of Transportation continues to be a major funding source for needed projects throughout the state and enables communities to pursue transportation needs without increasing the burden of local property taxes,” said Assemblyman Wisniewski, who chairs the Assembly Transportation Committee. “I am pleased to have helped secure these much needed funds for the people of Carteret and for the improvements to Roosevelt Avenue.”
