TOMS RIVER – Transit officials presented proposed changes to the Garden State Parkway at a public hearing, where people questioned how this will impact their drive.
The work will be between Mileposts 78.8 through 84.5, impacting Beachwood, South Toms River, Berkeley, and Toms River. It is projected to cost between $500-600 million.
One of the biggest changes is that there will be a “Collector-Distributor roadway” in the area of Interchanges 81 and 82. Drivers getting onto the Parkway will first be on this Collector-Distributor until either they get off at another Toms River stop or go on to the rest of the Parkway. This should prevent that accident-prone spot when cars are trying to get off while others are trying to get on.
If you’re heading north, there will be a through lane and an auxiliary lane (for getting on and off). If you’re heading south, there will be two through lanes and an auxiliary lane.
Other parts of the project include the rehabilitation or replacement of bridges, replacement of guide rails, and upgrades to signing, striping and lighting. Utilities would need to be relocated.
The plan includes stormwater runoff management as well. The improvements will also provide 12-foot left and right shoulders, which in some cases didn’t exist at all.
During the public portion of the meeting, Fire Chief Carl Weingroff asked about the Jersey barriers proposed. He said that fire trucks have a hard time responding to the Parkway, having to go north to go south, and dealing with streets that flood. He asked that the construction makes it more accessible to cut down response times.
A sight-impaired man asked about pedestrian sidewalks for the intersections near the Parkway. An official said they’d assess that concern.
Residents were given about half an hour to look at maps and ask questions informally. Then there was a presentation on the changes, before it was opened up to questions and comments which were recorded as testimony.
The officials speaking at the meeting were Vincent Mignella, project engineer and hearing officer for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority; Michael McDonnell, an engineer from Stantec Consulting Services; and Marshall Robert, an engineer with Arora and Associates.
Changing Exit Numbers
The standard in numbering exits is that if they are part of a single exit, they will be assigned the same number. Therefore, 81, 82, and 82A will now be 82A, 82B and 82C. That’s because these will all be accessed from the Collector-Distributor.
Exit 80 Changes
If you’re heading north on the Parkway, there will be a new exit that will bring you to Route 9 south. In this case, we’re not talking about Route 166 or Atlantic City Boulevard or whatever it is called through Beachwood and South Toms River. We’re talking about that long road with no driveways on it that hits several lights before it joins what we commonly call Route 9. This is the road that gets backed up with traffic from Parkway south every rush hour and now traffic from Parkway north will also be routed to here.
If you’re heading the other way, onto Parkway north, you currently have two lanes which combine into one after the light at Route 530/Dover Road. The new plan would have those two lanes both continue as auxiliary lanes. They will lead to the Collector-Distributor roadway and to the rest of the Parkway.
Also near this intersection, Dover Road westbound will be widened under the Parkway to accommodate two lanes. The idea is that the light before going onto the Parkway would stay green longer because cars going west wouldn’t need as much time to go through.
A new southbound entrance ramp will be created from Double Trouble Road to Parkway south.
If you’re driving west on Dover, you would take the jughandle at Railroad Avenue then go straight at the light on Dover and then make a left to travel south on the Parkway.
A lot of people in this area trying to go south on the Parkway just take Double Trouble to Interchange 77. This would provide an alternative. It would likely be more popular for people leaving South Toms River and Manitou Park and would prevent adding traffic on local roads.
A new traffic light will be built at Double Trouble Road at the existing ramp with a designated left-turn lane. It will be coordinated with the traffic light that already exists at Dover so that traffic can flow through them both.
Currently, the off ramp at exit 80 is dangerous. There is a designated right turn lane that people new to the area don’t realize is there. Then, the rest of the exit opens into two lanes – where you can go left or right, but there’s not much room to make a decision if you’re not experienced with it. Then, making a left out of there is difficult because a truck sitting at the light can block your view of oncoming cars. Making a right is tricky, too, because Double Trouble is a bit higher on your left so you can’t see cars coming.
Interchange 81
Interchange 81 will be called Interchange 82A. The Collector-Distributor roadways will have access to this.
Heading north, the exit ramp will be redesigned and will empty onto West Water Street.
If you’re leaving Toms River and heading north, the traffic pattern won’t change on the ramp itself. The only change is that you will get onto the Collector-Distributor. From there, you would be able to either get off at 82B or the rest of Parkway north.
The bridge going over the Parkway at Lakehurst Road will be replaced. The new one will be constructed slightly to the north of the current bridge. That way, people will use the old one until the new one is ready. Then, the new one will open up and the old one will be demolished.
Heading south from downtown, the entrance ramp to the Parkway will be enhanced to meet the standards of other entrances but the traffic flow won’t change.
Heading south on the Parkway, your exit will be at a different spot. You’ll get before Lakehurst Road and the exit ramp will cut through the woods and come to the traffic light at Lakehurst Road.
The Park and Ride will be reconfigured but the number of parking spaces will remain the same. It will be closed during reconstruction.
Interchange 82
Interchange 82 and 82A will be called 82B and C. It will still remain as a cloverleaf. However the entrances and exits will be improved and updated to modern design standards. For example, the curve coming off the Parkway will be wider and allow more time to decelerate.
They will connect to and from the Collector-Distributor roadway. Weaving lengths along this stretch and Route 37 will either be the same or be lengthened.
The bridge over 37 will be replaced and widened.
Interchange 83
At Interchange 83, the Authority is working with engineers working for Ocean County for a new southbound exit ramp to Indian Head Road.
Between 82 and 83, there will be a fourth lane as well as a widening of the roadway to create standard shoulders on both sides.
Loud Cars
One concern is the loud cars on the Parkway. Expanding the road would bring the noise closer to existing homes.
A sound barrier is proposed at the Toms River parts that would impact homes west of Lakewood Road (Route 166) up until Whitesville Road in the area of Milepost 83.
Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick said he was concerned about the noise of the Parkway to residents in his town. Officials said that they would go with a sound wall if the town passes a resolution asking for it.
Rodrick asked the people at the meeting who lived there if they wanted a sound wall and they all did, so he said he’d recommend sending a resolution from the town.
A South Toms River resident said that trees are a natural sound barrier and worried about how loud it will be without them.
Recently, residents of Evergreen Woods in Brick have complained that after the construction several years ago, the lack of trees has created a constant drone of noise that is sometimes extremely loud.
Environmental Impacts
The Turnpike Authority is required to plant trees since it’ll be cutting trees down. This will be done on the rights of way. For the trees that can’t fit in these areas, the law states they could instead compensate towns for them to do it themselves. Beachwood is the only town not impacted by this.
One Toms River resident suggested planting trees in certain areas, such as parking lots to mitigate heat sinks. The engineers said that the grant comes from the Authority. The towns propose plans and if the plans fit the guidelines, the grant money is sent.
The northern long-eared bat, which is endangered, is in a portion of federally-owned land that is being used.
Timeline And Comments
When this newspaper first reported on this project back in 2023, construction was expected to begin in late 2025 and would take about four years.
The project is in two parts. The first part includes the reconstruction of the Lakehurst Road bridge over the Parkway, the relocation of the Interchange 81 southbound exit ramp, and the widening of the Parkway north of 82-82A. This is expected to take place from 2027-2030.
The second and final part would start after that, and last approximately four years. It includes the remaining improvements at 82 and south, including the missing ramps at 80 and the collector-distributor roadways.
Written comments can be sent to HighwayDesign@njta.gov, or mailed to Vincent
Mignella, 1 Turnpike Plaza, P.O. Box 5042 Woodbridge, NJ 07095. Comments can be made until Monday, November 16.
There will be another public hearing in the future because some of the land being acquired near exit 82 was preserved as open space by the Green Acres program, so that requires a hearing.
