E. County Line to be widened

LAKEWOOD - East County Line Road in Lakewood will be reconstructed and widened between Route 9 and Squankum Road under a $3.9 million contract to be awarded by the Ocean County Board of Freeholders.

The Lakewood work is one of several road and drainage improvement contracts totaling $6.5 million that are slated to begin in the next few weeks.

"Spring is really our busy season," said Freeholder Director John P. Kelly. "We like to get the projects started early so the construction crews can take advantage of the good weather."

Starting work now also ensures that some of the smaller projects can be completed before the summer tourism season begins, he said.

Along East County Line Road, much of the road will be widened to accommodate wider shoulders and at some locations to widen the road from two to four lanes. Turn lanes will be added at the Squankum Road and Princeton Avenue intersections, said Kelly, who is the liaison to the Ocean County Engineer's Office.

The project, which was awarded to P&A Construction Inc. of Colonia, also includes improvements to Squankum Road north to the intersection with Kennedy Boulevard where a new traffic signal will be installed.

Construction is expected to be completed in about two years.