The Board of Trustees of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) approved 19 projects totaling $188 million that will make travel safer for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists throughout the region at its March 13, 2023 meeting. The projects were approved for grants through the NJTPA’s fiscal year 2022 Local Safety and High Risk Rural Roads programs, which provide federal funds to counties and cities for cost-effective solutions that can make an immediate impact on their target areas.
“These projects will deliver much-needed upgrades to roads and intersections, enhancing safety for all travelers,” said Passaic County Commissioner John W. Bartlett, the Chair of the NJTPA. Elements include new and upgraded traffic signals, modern roundabouts, turning lanes, pedestrian countdown signals, high visibility crosswalks, bike lanes, and more.
Projects will be funded in Essex County, Hudson County, Jersey City, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Morris County, Passaic County, Somerset County and Union County. Fact sheets on each of the projects are available here.
Bartlett noted that the $188 million in projects represents a doubling of funding since the last round of Local Safety and High Risk Rural Roads projects in 2020. The increase, he said, “is the result of effective partnerships between the NJTPA and its member agencies.”
Since 2018, the NJTPA has provided consultant assistance to help interested member agencies apply for project funding under the two programs. This has increased the number of applications and the size of projects applied for. Consultants help with traffic data collection, crash diagrams, environmental impacts, alternative analysis and other application requirements.