Several Cliffwood Beach Road Projects Nearly Complete

Aberdeen Township's three main objectives for flood mitigation, as posed in the 2014 Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan for Monmouth County, were to deal with 1) State Route 35 between Cliffwood Avenue and Raritan Boulevard; 2) Lakeshore Drive near the beach park; and 3) Amboy Avenue near Matawan Creek.

The NJ DOT had been planning a major project on Route 35 for some time, and that work seems to be nearly completed. Some landscaping still needs to be done on the parcel across from the Goodwill, where the construction crew has been putting its equipment and supplies for the past two years, but that's about it. Route 35 has been raised and the creeks now pass easily under the roadway. No more detours onto County Road and Cliffwood Avenue. The intersections at Cliffwood Avenue and Amboy Avenue have been modified and new signals added to improve traffic flow. Amboy Avenue no longer feeds into Cliffwood Avenue but dead ends after McDonald's and the auto parts store. And the roadways have all been repaved and lined.

Lakeshore Drive was recently raised down where the creek passes under it and around the park at the beachfront. The roadway was newly paved, shiny new guard rails were installed, and lines were painted. Only time will tell if this work will provide meaningful flood mitigation.

There has been some work going on along Amboy Avenue between Prospect Avenue and the Blue Rock Cafe. The road was closed to local traffic recently and only limited vehicle traffic was crossing the bridge. The Up the Creek Tavern by the Keyport Marina has been totally rebuilt and raised quite high -- maybe it should now be called Up Above the Creek? I'm not quite sure of the status of the roadway and bridge. The Blue Rock Cafe is open and doing a rousing business despite the road closing. If you are in the area, be sure to grab a beer or have a meal, or both.

My 2015-16 Aberdeen Township tax bill arrived yesterday. Enclosed was a letter from the Township Manager discussing the township's careful stewardship of tax revenues. Much of the discussion focused on the township's adroit use of county, state and federal programs to repair and maintain our roads. It's an interesting read, mostly the part on page 2.

The manager appreciates our patience as those of us with awful road surfaces await planned improvements. She claims to have a map of the township on her office wall to remind her of the need for roadwork in particular spots. I am being patient, but I might send her a photo to add to her wall of the large pool that forms in front of my house when it rains ever since a township crew repaved the fire hydrant apron in front of my house.

All in all good news. Taxes are only going up about $5/month and improvements to my street are towards the top of the waiting list.