Hazlet Avenue, Near Train Station, To Get Facelift

On Monday, work will begin to improve well-worn Hazlet Avenue, from Bethany Road on the Holmdel/Hazlet border to the intersection with state highway Route 35.

Road closures are possible, said Hazlet Township Engineer Dennis Dayback. But time-pressed train commuters who use the Hazlet Avenue entrance to the NJ Transit trains station lots will be warned in advance by an on-site electronic message board.

The scope of the $408,000 project includes milling and overlaying the entire roadway, curb and sidewalk installation and repair, minor drainage improvements, and ugrading all of the intersections with ADA compliant ramps. The work will be done by Black Rock Enterprises, Inc., of Spotswood, NJ. About half of the cost is being picked up by the state Dept. of Transportation through a grant, said Dayback.

"The pavement is in bad shape and its in need of repair," said Dayback on Friday. The improvements will have a big impact on users in Hazlet and Holmdel."

Pedestrians who walk to the station will have sidewalks on both sides, instead of just one. That's good news fro Marybeth Barresi, who walks to the station from her home on Hazlet Avenue in the pre-dawn darkness, with a flashlight. "I have to cross the street here because there are no sidewalks," she said.

Bike riders, skateboarding teens and children will have a safer corridor to travel. Presently there are spots where there is no sidewalk, or interrupted sidewalks, and very little shoulder to avoid the passing cars.

Resident Americo Ramos, outside pruning his shrubs at his home next to the train station, said he was happy to hear that sidewalks and curbs were coming. "Property is more valuable when there are sidewalks," he said.

Mike Carlo, a resident who has lived on Hazlet Avenue for 18 years, feared he may lose some landscaping, but said the improvements were necessary. "It is definitely a safety issue," he said. "But they should really do something about the speeding."

The Hazlet Youth Athletic League property is also included in the area of improvements. The sidewalk and curbing will be installed on the perimeter of the front gravel parking lot.

The project may take four to six weeks, weather permitting, said Dayback.