Traffic Study of Hooper, Fischer and College Drive Points to Jughandle Upgrades

How can more traffic be accommodated on Hooper Avenue between College Drive and Fischer Boulevard, with enrollment at Ocean County College expected to soar because of the partnership with Kean University?

Three options were studied and two of them rejected because they cost too much and had too many environmental drawbacks, according to county Engineer Frank Scarantino.

The third and preferred alternative is to dualize the jughandles at Hooper and Fischer and Hooper and College Drive at a cost of $1.7 million, Scarantino said.

That plan will eliminate left turns onto Hooper Avenue at both intersections with two-phase traffic signals at both locations. A new loop ramp at the College Drive intersection will allow left and u-turns.

That project impacts 2,750 square yards of wetlands and 7,215 square yards of transitional areas in Toms River.

Also included in a state-financed study were proposals to extend Fischer Boulevard to connect with College Drive on the college property and extend College Drive through the Jamm Realty site to link up with Fischer Boulevard at the Water’s Edge development.

The Fischer Boulevard Extension would have cost an estimated $4.2 million and disturbed 7,519 square yards of wetlands and 5,018 square yards of transitional areas, according to the study.

Because of those impacts the state Department of Environmental Protection would have blocked the project.

The College Drive extension was estimated to cost $3.1 million, impacting 2,345 square yards of wetlands and 6,300 square yards of transitional areas. Because the Jamm Realty site is preserved open space, that route would have required approval of the state Green Acres program to divert the land for a highway right of way.

Kelly said the dualization of the jughandles will allow them to handle two-way traffic, create indirect left turns, and more time for drivers to get through the intersections.