TRENTON - The state Department of Transportation announced millions of dollars in federal grants for transportation projects in Central Jersey.
The DOT, in a partnership with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), announced on Friday the awarding of nearly $20 million in 27 federal grants under the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) and Transportation Alternatives Set-Asides (TA Set-Asides) programs.
Some of the funds will be going to towns in Middlesex, Hunterdon and Union counties.
“As part of NJDOT’s commitment to communities, we work with the three regional planning authorities to provide federal funding to counties and municipalities for local transportation projects that improve safety and strengthen the cultural, aesthetic, and environmental aspects of our transportation system,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said in a news release. “The Safe Routes to School grants will provide resources to local communities throughout New Jersey to enhance our sidewalks and crosswalks to allow our children to safely walk or bike to school.”
The grants were divided between 11 towns in Central Jersey, North Jersey and the shore. In Central Jersey:
- Highland Park received $250,000 for phase two of intersection safety improvements to increase pedestrian safety.
- High Bridge received $360,000 for SRTS downtown connection to increase pedestrian safety.
- New Providence received $430,000 for various sidewalk improvements to increase pedestrian safety.
The SRTS and TA Set-Asides are both federally-funded programs. SRTS was established in 2005 to increase pedestrian safety awareness among motorists and schoolchildren. The TA Set-Asides program was established by Congress in 2012 and is funded through a set aside of the Federal Aid Highway Program to provide funds for community based “non-traditional” projects that strengthen the cultural, aesthetic, and environmental aspects of the nation’s intermodal system.
Each individual municipality is responsible for implementing their respective SRTS or Transportation Alternative Set-Aside projects. For further details on a specific project, you would have to contact the municipality.
For a full list of the towns which received funds, please visit www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/press/2019/Safe_Routes.pdf.