Princeton To Get $650K For Witherspoon Street Project

Princeton NJ

27 October, 2021

10:09 AM

Description

PRINCETON, NJ — Good news for the Municipality. Princeton is all set to receive $650,000 in municipal aid grants for road improvement projects, state officials announced on Tuesday. The grant money is earmarked for improvements to Witherspoon Street and is part of $161.25 million in municipal aid grants being distributed to 541 cities and towns across the state to advance road, bridge, safety, and quality-of-life improvements, according to Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. "These funds are crucial to municipalities for the completion of projects that improve quality of life and safety for New Jersey residents," Murphy said in a statement. "Under our Administration's leadership, the Transportation Trust Fund continues to bolster infrastructure statewide. I congratulate all municipalities that have received grants and look forward to them putting these dollars to use." Princeton has been working on the Witherspoon Street plan for a while now and recently NJDOT asked the Municipality to widen the entrance to Witherspoon Street to at least 22 feet or risk losing funding. Read Related: NJDOT Tells Princeton That Witherspoon St Entrance Must Be Wider The Council passed a resolution in March, approving changes to Witherspoon Street, including replacing the traffic signal at the Nassau Street-Witherspoon Street intersection. The grant program attracted 625 applications from 547 different municipalities. NJDOT staff evaluated applications and rated them on their merits. The applications were then reviewed by an independent panel of New Jersey municipal engineers. The 2016 Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) renewal has made it possible to continue to award $161.25 million annually – more than double the $78.75 million that was available before the TTF renewal, according to officials. The extra funds have allowed NJDOT to increase the number of municipalities receiving grants from about 370 a year before the TTF renewal to 541 municipalities this year, officials said. "The Murphy Administration is committed to improving local communities by providing millions of dollars in aid to municipalities to make important safety, infrastructure, and quality-of-life improvements without burdening local property taxpayers," Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. "We are pleased to award grants to nearly every municipality in New Jersey." Under the Municipal Aid grant program, each county receives a share of the total funding based on population and the number of local centerline miles. Municipalities then compete for portions of their county's share. NJDOT provides 75 percent of the grant amount when a town awards a contract and the remaining 25 percent upon completion of the project. Of the $161.25 million, $10 million is allotted for municipalities qualifying for Urban Aid, with the amounts determined by the Department of Community Affairs. Princeton did not qualify for Urban Aid. There are seven project categories within the Municipal Aid grant program eligible for funding —Roadway Preservation, Roadway Safety, Quality of Life, Mobility, Bikeway, Pedestrian Safety, and Bridge Preservation. The Princeton project was classified as "Roadway" by the state.While evaluating the proposals, past performance in connection with the timely award of projects and construction close-out factors were considered. NJDOT also verified if the municipality has adopted a Complete Streets policy. A Complete Streets policy establishes guidelines that require consideration be given to pedestrians and bicyclists when local transportation projects are being planned, designed, and built.