HOWELL – Monmouth County officials are making plans to improve an intersection in Howell and have authorized an engineering firm to design the upgrades.
At a meeting on Sept. 28, the Board of Freeholders passed a resolution authorizing Cherry, Weber and Associates, Freehold Township, to design improvements at the intersection of county Route 547 (Lakewood-Farmingdale Road), county Route 549 (Herbertsville Road) and county Route 21 (Old Tavern Road) in Howell.
In addition to working on plans for the intersection, the firm will design the reconstruction of a bridge that is identified as Bridge HL-49 in Howell.
Cherry, Weber and Associates’ fee for the work is not to exceed $454,778, according to the resolution. The firm will be required to submit interim reports detailing its progress no less frequently than quarterly, and a final report prior to the payment of its final voucher.
Patrolman Matthew Cherney, who is the Howell Police Department’s traffic safety officer, said the intersection slated for improvement by the county is controlled with a traffic signal.
Cherney said police have responded to numerous crashes at the location over the years, but he said none of those collisions have been very serious in nature.
“The main issue with this intersection is simply the volume of traffic during the commuting hours, specifically vehicles traveling south during the evening commute,” he said. “There are already a significant number of vehicles traveling on Route 547 approaching the intersection. However, this number is increased significantly by vehicles which are exiting from Interstate 195 onto Route 547.”
Cherney said the influx of vehicles habitually causes traffic to back up over the Interstate 195 bridge and he said it has backed up to the Allaire Road and Route 547 intersection.
The officer said the backup is a direct result of the number of motorists who want to turn left onto Herbertsville Road from Route 547.
“Many years ago the county installed a delayed green for opposing traffic in an attempt to alleviate traffic and the length of this delayed green has been extended on multiple occasions. However, traffic still backs up.
“As a result of this backup, motorists who want to continue straight on Lakewood-Farmingdale Road or turn right on Old Tavern Road have started to use the shoulder between the Route 547 southbound exit ramp onto Interstate 195 east and the exit ramp onto Route 547 south.
“This shoulder was not constructed for repeated long-term use. It will deteriorate quicker and will need to be replaced if it continues to be used. As a result of vehicles using the shoulder, the police department has responded to many crashes on the shoulder or to rear-end crashes due to the volume of traffic,” Cherney said.
