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Politics & Government

Parkway Mile 83 Interchange to be Fully Operational July 4

The reconfiguration of mile 83 on the parkway will be fully operational before July 4 and the traffic lights on surrounding county roads are scheduled to go live on June 18.

A new access road connecting Route 571 to the parkway at mile 83 is expected to open before July 4, county officials said.

Part of the Garden State Parkway Shoulder Restoration and Widening Program, the reconfiguration of mile 83 on the Garden State Parkway began earlier this year.

The reconfiguration of mile 83 will be fully operational before July 4.

“All the new roadways will be open and the traffic will be on them,” said County Engineer and Project Manager Frank Scarantino.

The construction is on target for projected dates of completion, Scarantino said.

Construction work will continue for some weeks after July 4 to put the finishing touches on the reconfiguration.

“There will be continued work for another six to eight weeks to remove the old northbound off ramp and address general punch list items,” said Ocean County Public Information Director, Donna Flynn.

No roads will close during the cleanup work period to be completed after the July 4 holiday, said Scarantino.  

The new connector road located behind The Fairways West at Bey Lea apartment complex is to be named “Lomell Lane” after war hero Leonard “Bud” Lomell, said Scarantino.

The reconfiguration is expected to eliminate traffic going through the intersection of Route 9 and Route 571 to access or egress the northbound Parkway, said Flynn.

Another benefit of the reconfiguration is that it will allow traffic to move from Route 166 directly onto Route 571, without having to pass through the intersection of Route 9 and Route 571, said Flynn.

“The project provides safer and easier access,” said Flynn.

Three lights will direct traffic through what will be the reconfigurated Mile 83 intersection of the parkway and county roads.

One of the traffic signals, located at the intersection of 571 and Intermediate Way is already operational.

The remaining two traffic signals are scheduled to go live in flash mode on June 18th and will be fully operational within five days thereafter.  

One of these two traffic lights is located where new northbound entrance and exit ramps make a T with the new connector road. The other traffic light is located at the intersection of 166 and the new connector road.

Three Ocean County roads affected by the project are the Old Freehold Road (County Road 623) overpass in Toms River, the Chambers Bridge Road (County Road 549) overpass in Brick Twp. and the Church Road (County Road 620) overpass in Toms River.

The Old Freehold Road overpass is located near the Whitty Road intersection in Toms River and the Church Road overpass is located near the intersection of North Bay Avenue in Toms River.

Ocean County Roads Supervisor J. Thomas Curcio said the plans were to “cut through Route 566 to Route 571 to alleviate traffic on Route 571.”

The Parkway Interchange 83 Connector Road project is one of many recently completed and ongoing projects in which the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders has authorized the investment of more than $60 million.

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