EAST ORANGE – Gov. Phil Murphy, Lt. Gov. Oliver, and DOT Commissioner Gutierrez-Scaccetti on April 5 announced that 95 percent of New Jersey municipalities would receive Municipal Aid grant awards, totaling $161.25 million.
According to a release, Cape May County’s 16 municipalities will share nearly $2.8 million of the total. The following are the municipalities, projects, and amounts:
Avalon, Reconstruction of 68th Street, $150,000.
Cape May, Reconstruction of Pennsylvania Avenue, $200,000.
Cape May Point, Pearl, Brainard and Yale avenues, $160,000.
Dennis Township, Reconstruction of Academy Road, $80,000.
Lower Township, Roseann Avenue Roadway and utility improvements, $160,000.
Middle Township, South Fourth Street Reconstruction, $125,699.
North Wildwood, Reconstruction of East 22nd Avenue, $200,000.
Ocean City, West Avenue 26th to 32nd, $240,000.
Sea Isle City, Resurfacing of Central Avenue, $150,000.
Stone Harbor, Reconstruction of 88th Street, $200,000.
Upper Township, Reconstruction of Commonwealth Avenue – Phase 2, $150,000.
West Cape May, Reconstruction of West Drive, $240,000.
West Wildwood, Reconstruction of G Avenue, $160,000.
Wildwood, Reconstruction of Hand Avenue, $185,444.
Wildwood Crest, Reconstruction of Trenton Avenue, $160,000.
Woodbine, Reconstruction of Sumner Avenue, $200,000.
A total of 537 cities and towns across the state are receiving grants to advance road, bridge, safety, and quality-of-life improvements in an effort to continue the Department of Transportation’s Commitment to Communities’ efforts.
“Supporting New Jersey’s communities through funding for infrastructure maintenance and renewal is a core component of good government, and stands at the top of this Administration’s priorities,” stated Murphy.
“Working directly with municipalities to update the main lines of transportation that run through our towns and cities will have a positive daily impact on people,” stated Oliver, who also serves as commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.
“Residents want to see their Transportation Trust Fund dollars at work in their communities and this grant program will help to make infrastructure improvements become a reality statewide.
“The Murphy Administration maintains its commitment to communities by providing municipalities the resources to make important safety, infrastructure, and quality-of-life improvements without burdening local property taxpayers,” stated Gutierrez-Scaccetti.
The competitive Municipal Aid grant program attracted 681 applications from 544 different municipalities with a total of $377 million in work. Project applications are evaluated and rated on their merits by an independent panel of New Jersey municipal engineers with the support of NJDOT.
This process resulted in 538 awards to 537 municipalities. The 2016 Transportation Trust Fund renewal has made it possible to continue to award more than double the dollar value for the second straight year ($78.75 million to $161.25) and increase the number of recipients.
Under the Municipal Aid grant program, each county is apportioned a share of the total funding based on population and the number of local centerline miles. Municipalities compete for portions of their county’s share.
NJDOT provides 75 percent of the grant amount when a town awards a contract and the remaining 25 percent upon completion of the project.
Of the $161.25 million awarded, there is $10 million allotted for municipalities qualifying for Urban Aid under state law, with the amounts determined by the Department of Community Affairs.
“This is why I worked to make sure that the Transportation Trust Fund includes a significant amount of support for infrastructure work at the local level,” stated Senate President Steve Sweeney. “Local government identifying local issues, and state government helping to build solutions. It’s encouraging to see our state take proactive steps in addressing our aging infrastructure, and I hope by working together through the upcoming budget negotiations, we can find even more state savings that can be used for transportation and infrastructure investments outside of the TTF.”
Applicants for Municipal Aid grants this year were submitted to NJDOT by October 2018 and have been judiciously reviewed.
Within the Municipal Aid program, there are seven project categories eligible for funding: Roadway Preservation, Roadway Safety, Quality of Life, Mobility, Bikeway, Pedestrian Safety, and Bridge Preservation.
Past performance in connection with the timely award of projects and project delivery were part of the evaluation of the proposals. When evaluating applications, NJDOT also verifies if the municipality has adopted Complete Streets policies. Complete Streets policies establish guidelines that require consideration be given to pedestrians and bicyclists when local transportation projects are being planned, designed, and built.
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