County Adds $2.6M to Road Repairs in 2014

The Morris County Board of Freeholders has decided to more than double its original proposed expenditure of $2.2 million for county road repairs, and will add 11 miles of new pavement to the area.

Morris County’s governing body says it will add $2.6 million to the $2.2 million in capital improvements for paving projects this year, which will allow the resurfacing of 33 miles of county roads. The original plan was to repave 22 miles of roads.

Morris County also received $3.9 million in federal transportation funds to put toward road repairs. 

In the past five years an average of 17 miles of roadway per year has been paved.

Because of some restrictions and scheduling conflicts for other capital improvement projects in the county that will now take place in 2015, the additional funds were able to be allocated to road repairs.

“Everyone supported the expanded program,” said Freeholder John Krickus, a member of the budget committee in a statement. “But we also needed to pay for the program by being more efficient and continuing our program of debt reduction.”

Morris County maintains a total of 300 miles of county roadways.

The road repaving is in addition to an enhanced effort to fill numerous potholes this spring, which received an influx of $75,000 last month for Hot Box equipment.