Council VP Asks Sen. Holzapfel for Help with Route 70 Safety

The township will again seek state help to determine if there is a way to make Route 70 safer. 

After a fatal crash in Whiting on Sept. 18, Township Council President Brendan Weiner said that he spoke with 10th Legislative District Sen. Jim Holzapfel to see if he, a representative of Manchester and Lakehurst, can offer assistance.

"Since this accident, I spoke to Sen. Holzapfel and once again asked him to get in touch with the [New Jersey Department of Transportation] to see what we can do to make this corridor safer," Weiner said Monday at the Township Council's regular meeting. "He assured me that I'll be getting a call from DOT."

Weiner said that he believes the "terrible accidents" on the state highway may be reduced with the use of Jersey barriers in the median of the roadway. 

"I think Jersey barriers down Route 70 could prevent many of these tragedies," he said. 

Earlier this week, the family of an Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Detective killed last year in a crash on Route 70 in Southampton called on the Pinelands Commission to adapt its Comprehensive Management Plan to enhance safety on the mostly two-lane highway. Law enforcement officials also urged for action to be taken. 

Manchester's Township Council has questioned Route 70's safety before. In April, after a string of crashes on the highway in the township, members passed a resolution asking for help from New Jersey officials.

"The state Department of Transportation has failed to move forward with a greatly needed plan to widen this section of Route 70 and address these serious concerns," states the council resolution directed to the NJDOT, township officials and 10th Legislative District representatives. 

The resolution passed by the council in April urges the NJDOT to evaluate Route 70 in Manchester to "determine a solution to alleviate traffic and address the often dangerous and fatal accidents" on the highway.