Big Changes Coming To Silverton’s Biggest Intersection
Looks like a major bottleneck situation will finally be dealt with in the Silverton section of Toms River. The Hooper Avenue/Kettle Creek Road-Church Road intersection is getting a facelift!
Silvertonians have long dreaded the rush hour ride home. The dreaded Kettle Creek Rd-Church Rd intersection on Hooper Ave can be a nightmare. Southbound traffic backing up far into Brick, while turn signals on westbound Kettle Creek Road and eastbound Church Road cause chaos. It’s a frustrating ride for sure. However, that may all be remedied in the next couple of years, with a new traffic plan in Toms River. This, thanks to a 2 million dollar bond issue that Ocean County Officials have approved.
Project Details.
According to the County’s website, https://www.co.ocean.nj.us/OC/Engineering/frmHooperAveChurchRdSafety.aspx, . The proposed project includes adding a Thru/Right turn lane on southbound Hooper Avenue approaching Church Road as well as constructing an additional westbound Lane on Church Road. Additionally, the existing exclusive right turn lane on westbound Kettle Creek Road approaching Hooper Avenue is to be modified to a Thru/Right Turn Lane to match the added receiving lane on Church Road. Updated signal timings for the intersection are proposed to accommodate the new equipment as well as projected vehicle travel growth.
Furthermore, The improvements include ADA compliant sidewalks and upgrading signalized intersection to current standards.
When will construction begin?
As with all construction projects in this state, it’s anybody’s guess as to what obstacles my slow a project down. However the plan is for construction to start next summer, in 2024, and be done sometime in 2025. So, if you live in Silverton you have time to plan, or buy a hovercraft. Personally as a Green Island resident I am happy the bottlenecking is getting addressed. Moreover, I do worry about alternate traffic that may be forced through Silverton’s Brand Avenue and Maine Street. Obviously, these would be needed to get to the other east west road to and from Hooper, Silver Bay Road. There are already weekly complaints about speeding on those roads, and one can only imagine what added traffic and added frustration could do.
Additionally with the new Roxie’s Bar and Grill set to open soon to much fanfare, this could make for even more of a headache for traffic in and out of anticipated bustling parking lot. Alas, that is in the future, and we can’t worry about that now. Enjoy your traffic delays Silverton, they are going to get better…Eventually.
You can watch a 5 minute video from the County about the project here:
