Improvements Planned for Brick Boulevard, Hooper Avenue Traffic Flow

The nine mile-long corridor that comprises Brick Boulevard and Hooper Avenue in Brick and Toms River will be upgraded with new technology to help improve traffic flow, Ocean County officials announced Thursday.

The county, which oversees the roadway, has received a $273,000 grant from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority to study traffic patterns and then upgrade 37 intersections along the nine mile span between Brick Boulevard's intersection with Route 70 in Brick and the road's southern terminus at Hooper Avenue and Water Street in Toms River.

The grant will be used for the overall project's first phase, officials said. In that phase, traffic data will be collected and analyzed with modeling software to develop improvement strategies for the intersections. A fully interactive graphic model of the corridor will be generated and will provide optimum signal timing and coordination plans.

The plan will then be implemented at the 37 intersections, 17 of which will receive upgraded signal controller equipment.

"This technology will help reduce congestion and emissions and that will go a long way in giving our drivers improved driving conditions," said Freeholder Director Joseph Vicari, in a statement.

Freeholder John P. Kelly said the project will involve little disruption from construction crews or detours and will ultimately save travelers time and money.

The Brick and Toms River project was one of three statewide selected to receive $3.3 million in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grants.