Bellmawr Receives $800,000 FY 2019 Local Freight Impact Grant; Camden, West Deptford Also Among Local Recipients

SJO Photo

On July 16, 2019, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) announced $30.1 million in grants as part of the Local Freight Impact Fund program that help counties and municipalities provide for the safe movement of large truck traffic.

Local grant recipients include:

• Bellmawr received $800,000 for pavement preservation on Benigno Boulevard.
• Camden received $1,200,000 for pavement preservation for the city’s port access truck route.
• Gloucester County received $4,000,000 for the Rt. 44 truck bypass and Du-Pont Port Access Road
• West Deptford Township received $400,000.00 for resurfacing pavement preservation on Mid-Atlantic Parkway

“New Jersey roads and bridges carry some of the heaviest amount of commercial truck traffic in the country every day,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “The Local Freight Impact Fund is an example of your gas tax dollars at work. These grants using State funds will allow counties and municipalities to make critical improvements to truck routes that are essential to keeping our regional economy thriving.”

The Local Freight Impact Fund (LFIF) is a competitive $30.1 million program, which was created as part of Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) reauthorization in October 2016, which raised the gas tax. This is the second year that grants have been made under this program.

NJDOT received 59 applications requesting more than $85 million for the FY19 LFIF Program. Of the applications received, there are 25 grants being awarded representing 24 municipalities in 13 counties. Of the 25 projects, there is one Bridge Preservation project, three Truck Safety and Mobility projects, two New Construction projects and 19 Pavement Preservation projects.

The program helps New Jersey’s municipalities fund projects that emphasize and enhance the safe movement of large truck traffic, renew aging structures that carry large truck traffic, promote economic development, and support new transportation opportunities.

Under the program, projects that fall into four categories are eligible for funding: bridge preservation, new construction, pavement preservation, and truck safety and mobility.

The grants are administered by the NJDOT Division of Local Aid and Economic Development. NJDOT staff evaluate projects using a variety of criteria including: existing conditions, overall traffic volume, percentage of large truck traffic, crash frequency, connectivity to freight nodes, among others.

Click here for a full list of project awards.