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Ford Road Improvement Project Still Moving Forward
By Keith Hagarty
Plans for the reconstruction of Ford Road, between Kent Road and Highway 9, moved a step further this week as the Township Council supported the town's application for federal grant funding.
The multi-year project on the 4,000-foot roadway is expected to have an approximate cost of a little over $800,000.
"It's going to take somewhere between four and five (phases), depending on the price of blacktop," said Township Manager William Nunziato. "We estimated about $800,000, with $200,000 a year for four years, but the (CDBG) awards are somewhat reduced depending on the budget cuts on the federal level, so it's probably going to be a four- or five-year project."
Before the council meeting, Nunziato said he met with the township citizens' participation group to solicit ideas for the 2009 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project.
The community development block grant program was applied for in partnership with Monmouth County, and is funded through the federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The primary criteria for a municipality to receive the annual grant is for the proposed project to be located in a low- to moderate-income housing area, based on figures from the 2000 U.S. Census.
There are currently only two eligible areas for block grant funding in Howell: the northern region, bordered by Route 524, Ketchum Road, Route 9 and the Manasquan River, and the southern portion bordered by Church Road and Route 9 from the Metedeconk River.
"It's just those two small, little areas that are still eligible for low- to moderate-income (block grant) work," said Nunziato.
With options limited in Howell for CDBG funding, the group's chairman, Frank Kryskowiak, said the consensus amongst the group was to stick with the ongoing improvements to Ford Road and devote the money towards phase III of the project.
"It's roughly a 4,000-foot reconstruction," said Nunziato. "We're going to do some drainage, and we're going to do a culvert repair."
Over the years, Ford Road has changed and created a dangerous travel-way for flooding, and steady deterioration, said Nunziato.
"The overall project itself consists of a series of drainage inlets, pipes, an outfall structure and a little bit of curbing where the drainage inlets are," he said.
Last year, the township was awarded approximately $181,000, which was used to contract a consultant to design the upgrades to the road project and currently has permits pending before the state Department of Environmental Protection.
"Once that permit is acquired, we can actually begin spending the money for phase I, and do some paving," said Nunziato. The township also expects to receive additional CDBG funds in July or August, to be applied to phase II of the project, which including additional paving procedures.
"The 2009 application is simply a continuation of that process," said Nunziato. "Right now, all we really need from council is acknowledgment that the advisory group has recommended this project and that the council is in support of it."
The council said the Ford Road project is a good thing for the residents and motorists who travel down the dangerous, bumpy roadway.
All too familiar with the worn down conditions of Ford Road, Councilwoman Angela Dalton is glad to see the road conditions finally addressed.
"I think it's great," she said.
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