During fall of last year, construction began along the intersection of State Route 34 and County Road 537. This has been problematic for some Brookdale students, especially those from Howell, Freehold and Colts Neck, who use this route to get to the college.

The roads are open regardless of construction. Lanes have been repainted narrowly and makeshift cones also serve as lanes to make room for construction.

Before the work began, traffic here was quite heavy, especially during rush hour, making those with early morning classes stressed. Now that construction is at its peak, traffic is worse than usual.

According to Monmouth County’s official website, State Route 34 will be widened, to accommodate an exclusive left turn lane, two through lanes, an exclusive right turning lane and two receiving lanes along both approaches to the intersection with CR 537. CR 537 will also be widened to accommodate an exclusive left turn lane, a through lane, a shared through/right lane and two receiving lanes along both approaches to the intersection. Bridge 1308-152 on SR 34 and Bridge 1300-A18 on CR 537 are also to be reconstructed.

The project is being carried out in order to decongest traffic at the intersection and because of the poor condition of the bridges. Construction is expected to be finished in Fall/winter of 2019. That means for now, the only thing which Brookdale students can do is to take a different route to school or to leave a bit earlier.

Freeholder Deputy Director Lillian G. Burry said, “In order to build anything, there is a process. We opted to allow traffic to continue to move during this major construction. It is actually quite amazing how well we have been able to proceed through this monumental project. This project has been 19 years in the making. I am very happy to have been instrumental in bringing it to fruition.”