20 Roads To Be Improved In Jackson

Roadwork on Jackson Township roads will continue with 20 additional streets in the township scheduled for improvements or paving. (Photo courtesy Jackson Township)

  JACKSON – Twenty local roads are part of an ongoing, comprehensive investment in the community’s infrastructure, officials said.

  The township has invested more than $6.7 million in road paving, road repairs and critical infrastructure upgrades in the last four years according to a news release, posted on the township’s website.

  The entire lengths of 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, Derose Lane and Metedeconk Trail are on the project list.

  Jackson puts its road projects 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.

  Mayor Michael Reina said the $6.7 million 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.”

  Jackson invests on average between $1 million and $2 million each year, he said. This equals an average of 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. 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 roads will be undergoing paving work in the weeks to come as part of an ongoing road improvement program. (Photo courtesy Jackson Township)

  “Keeping our roads in top-notch condition is one of the most basic and one of the most important responsibilities of local government. Given the sheer size of Jackson Township, we have to stay on top of our infrastructure needs,” the mayor said.

  Last year, Jackson invested in a township-wide, comprehensive road assessment, which ranked the condition of every local road.

  The municipality has been investing significant resources into its capital budget for roadway improvement. Specifically, the township’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 making it the most comprehensive road repair effort ever undertaken in Jackson which owns and maintains over 208 miles of improved roadway.

  When the work on the township roads is finished, a total of 71 township roads will have been resurfaced and/or improved since 2019.