State Receives $76 Million For Rt. 35 Reconstruction

The final portion of federal funding to quickly rebuild a stretch of Hurricane Sandy-damaged Route 35 in Ocean County was released on Friday.

$76 million in Federal Highway Administration funding will be available to ensure the quick completion of repairs and restore services along a 12-mile section of the state highway from Bayhead to Island Beach State Park according to a joint press release from U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez

This is in addition to $128 million in federal funds released in February reports the Star-Ledger.

"Superstorm Sandy badly damaged highways and roads throughout New Jersey, and this federal funding will help us take a critical next step toward rebuilding Route 35 so that it is stronger than ever," said Lautenberg.

U.S. Congressmen Chris Smith and Jon Runyan also released a joint statement Friday.  Redesign plans for the new roadway include wider and safer berms, a much deeper substructure, and a newly designed drainage system.

"The new drainage system should prevent water from eroding the highway from beneath and also keep it off the highway surface, providing for a safer and stronger highway," said Smith.

Six years of intermittent work will be completed in nearly 2½ years thanks to continuous construction. The project will be done in 2015.

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