Rt 166 & Rt 9 improvement projects start next week

A big, short-term state highway project on a small -but critical - stretch of Route 166 in Toms River begins Monday. The following night, a long-term repaving job gets under way on 10 miles of Route 9 on Ocean County's southern end.

According to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), Route 166 needs drainage improvements from a point just beyond the Old Freehold Road fork to Colfax Street, mileposts 1.63 to 2.75. The work area encompasses the junction of Route 37. It's expected to last three days.

A lane shift will move southbound drivers to the northbound side, leaving one lane flowing in each direction.

Beginning Tuesday night, NJDOT contractors begin milling and paving 10 miles of Route 9, between the Garden State Parkway Bass River ramp in Burlington County and a spot just short of Westecunk Creek in Eagleswood.

The work area runs through Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton as well, and is scheduled to run until autumn of this year..

Between 9 PM and 6 AM weeknights, traffic will be subject to alternate-lane passage. NJDOT anticipates sporadic detours through local streets at intersections equipped with signals.

The $3,700,000 resufacing includes components for compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and traffic signal upgrades at Green Street in Tuckerton and at Maple Avenue in Bass River.

NJDOT posts real-time traffic information at http://www.511nj.org, and also sends messages through its Twitter account.