JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ – If you have driven through some of the more notorious pothole roads in Jackson, you may have noticed many have been repaved in recent weeks.
According to Jackson Township Mayor Michael Reina, the paving and resurfacing of township roads was part of a four-year $6.7 million township infrastructure upgrade project.
“Over the past four years alone, we’ve invested more than $6.7 million in road paving, road repairs and critical infrastructure upgrades,” said Mayor Michael Reina. “And that figure doesn’t include additional road work being done on county roads that run through Jackson. When we invest in our roads and infrastructure, we invest in our quality of life and in our local economy here in Jackson. That’s why we’re continuing our work on this front with 20 additional local roads being freshly resurfaced or repaired in the weeks ahead.”
Reina said more paving work is scheduled for the coming weeks.
“The entire lengths of the following township roads will be resurfaced in the coming weeks: High Street, Green Valley Road, Denmark Lane, South Boston Road, Indiero Road, Brentwood Road, Lenape Trail, Chandler Road, Feather Lane, Kacie Lynn Court, West Pleasant Grove, Kevin Court, Cypress Avenue, Gail Chamber Road, Sams Road, Kitay Court, Cobain Road, Chief Showell Drive and Metedeconk Trail. Road repair work will take place on the entire length of Derose Lane,” township communications officer Steve Dnistrian said in a statement today,
Reina noted that residents should be made aware that many of Jackson’s roads are county roads and the Municipal Utilities Authority has been running new water and sewer lines on some of those roads. That work has torn up roads such as East Veterans Highway, South Hope Chapel Road and Bowman Road, all of which are county roads not controlled by the township.
The mayor said on average, the township invests between $1 million and $2 million in repairs that improve on average six to eight miles of township roadways per year.
“This project work not only includes roadway pavement re-surfacing, but also involves roadway base pavement repairs, storm water system upgrades, handicap accessibility upgrades to sidewalk curb ramps and traffic striping/signage upgrades,” Reina added. “On an annual basis, the township has applied grants received from the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT), averaging about $400,000 per year, to its roadway and stormwater projects.”
Jackson Township is a mostly rural town comprising of over 100 square miles and while many major thoroughfares have light population density, the town and county must continue to maintain those roads.
“Keeping our roads in top-notch condition is one of the most basic and one of the most important responsibilities of local government,” Mayor Reina said. “Given the sheer size of Jackson Township, we have to stay on top of our infrastructure needs.”
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Given the large-scale projects Jackson Township undertakes, it has been able to secure better pricing for its road surfacing projects, which are put out to public bid. The cost of construction for completed roadways for Jackson is approximately $275,000 per mile, while the average cost for completed roadway work in the region is between $300,000 and $400,000 per mile.
In 2021, Jackson invested in a township-wide, comprehensive road assessment, which ranked the condition of every local road using the state DOT’s standard rating system and state-of-the art equipped vehicles during the actual evaluation of roadways.
The township has been investing significant resources into its capital budget for roadway improvement. Specifically, Jackson’s roadway improvement project budgets have been $1.57 million for 2019; $994,628 for 2020; $1.86 million for 2021; and $2.32 million for 2022. Historically, this is the most comprehensive road repair effort ever undertaken by the township.
Jackson Township owns and maintains over 208 miles of improved roadway. When work is completed on the next 20 local roads, a total of 71 township roads will have been resurfaced and/or improved in other ways since 2019.