JERSEY SHORE – As we start to dig out from the snowfall in the area, many are wondering when their streets will be plowed. Snowfall totals right now range from 8 inches all the way up near 2 feet. Blowing snow is making things extra hard in getting the actual amounts.
Officials said that people should wait for the roads to be cleared before attempting to travel and not to go out unless it is a true emergency. Several roads were closed today including 539 as motorists got stranded and had to be rescued by Ocean County crews.
If you need transportation for a critical medical treatment or a critical prescription filled, call the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, Office of Emergency Management at (732) 341-3451 or toll free (800) 331-8152.
Ocean County stated that once enough snow falls to warrant plowing, the first of the county roads to be cleared are the 500 series, which includes such main roads as Hooper Avenue in Toms River, and Route 571, which travels through Toms River to Jackson. In Southern Ocean County, Route 539 is first.
“We start with these main roads and work our way to the secondary roads,” said Scott Waters, Ocean County Road Department Supervisor.
Towns usually start with feeder roads that go into the larger highways. Culs-de-sac and other dead ends are usually last.
If you are in a large development, the roads leading in and out of that development will get plowed before the interior streets.
State roads, like the Garden State Parkway, are under Trenton’s timeline, not local.
The Ocean County Road Department is also responsible for clearing all the county parking lots including the vocational-technical centers, the resource centers, Transportation Department, and libraries.
Officials noted that patience will help get everyone through the storm safely.
“We have over 1,600 county lane miles in Ocean County, the most in the state,” County Commissioner John Kelly said. “Our road department will clear the county roads as expeditiously as possible.”
