TOMS RIVER — Ocean County officials said Monday that they are in the final design phase of a project to raise County Route 539 over Ridge Way near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, replacing the intersection where the two roads now meet at ground level.

The work covers a 1.2-mile stretch of Whiting-New Egypt Road, as Route 539 is also known, in Plumsted and Jackson townships. County officials said the project, launched in 2023, follows years of work with the base to provide secure, dependable access and to support keeping the base at its current location.

"Our goal is to ensure that Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is able to be safely and efficiently accessed by authorized personnel," said Ocean County Commissioner Ray Gormley, the board's liaison to the county Engineering Department. "We also want to limit disruption to traffic flow and travel delays for all roadway users."

The county Engineering Department chose to elevate the road after considering other options, officials said. Long retaining walls on either side will raise the approaches to the bridge, and part of the existing road will be turned into planted areas and private access roads for utility, county and base personnel, according to the project website.

Construction is scheduled to begin once authorization is approved, the county said. The release did not give a start date. No long-term closures or detours are expected, though speed limits will be lowered in work zones.

The project will be paid for partly with federal money authorized through the state Department of Transportation's Division of Local Aid and Economic Development, with the county covering the rest, officials said. The county did not release a cost estimate.

This brief was drafted by AI from a public agency’s press release and published by The New Jersey Tide. Why we use AI for stories like this one.