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The New Jersey Department of Transportation [NJDOT] funded Main Street Road Diet will bring over $19 million in needed improvements to the corridor between Allenhurst and Ocean Grove, city officials announced Thursday.

“The goal of the road diet is to decrease travel time through the Main Street corridor and create a safer, more efficient traffic flow,” Transportation Manager Michael Manzella said. “This will help with pedestrian and bicycle safety and improving emergency services response time.”

Manzella [at right] said the fact that Main Street does not currently have left turn lanes causes delays, driver frustration and crashes.

“The road diet is a key piece of the City’s traffic calming and bicycle/pedestrian plans,” he said. “This configuration for Main Street is a pilot— it will be tested and measured over a 2-year period to make sure it works for the City.”

When complete, the the corridor will feature a center two-way left turn lane bookended by travel lanes in each direction, bicycle lanes and parking. The project completion date is Spring 2020.

In its totality, NJDOT will be replacing 18 traffic signals with new pedestrian signals, poles and traffic signal cabinets.

Other improvements include the replacement of electrical utility poles, curb upgrades for ADA compliance at every intersection, upgrades of underground utilities, drainage improvements, lighting improvements and possible sidewalk replacement, officials said.

Work is scheduled to start next week with utility upgrades, officials said. The work will be done from 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. To accommodate summer traffic, work will be suspended on Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day, local officials said.

Temporary lane closures and detours will be provided to the public through the City’s Nixle communication platform, and a staging area at Sunset Park was approved by the City Council.

In conjunction, the City will use a $237,000 Transportation Alternatives Grant from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority to installation streetscape amenities like trees, benches, garbage cans, bus shelters and bike racks.

For road closure updates, sign up for Nixle by texting 07712 to 888777 or visiting www.nixle.com.

For additional information on the Main Street Revitalization Project, visit NJDOT’s Traffic Information website, www.511nj.org or via Twitter @njdot_info.

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