Jersey City awarded $8.1M for traffic safety improvements along Summit Avenue

Over $8.1 million in federal funds has been approved for safety improvements in Jersey City, specifically involving 33 intersections along Summit Avenue from Route 139 to Secaucus Road.

The project, funded by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, will include upgraded traffic signals at 19 intersections, pedestrian signal upgrades, high-visibility crosswalks, curb extensions and other improvements along the 1.5-mile corridor.

The Summit Avenue project, which is one of 19 safety improvements totaling $188.3 million across the NJTPA region, was approved by the NJTPA board of trustees at its March 13 meeting. Summit Avenue is identified on the high injury network in Jersey City’s Vision Zero Action Plan.

“Modernizing the intersections to be safer and operate more efficiently will build upon our broader Vision Zero efforts citywide, furthering our commitment to reach zero pedestrian and cyclist fatalities,” Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said. “With two nearby parks and several schools in the vicinity, these improvements are especially important to help keep residents of all ages safe.”

As has become the Fulop administration’s standard policy, the project’s preliminary and final design phases will include multiple public engagement sessions to solicit community feedback. The design phase is expected to begin later this year.

Funding approved for the programs doubled from the previous program cycle in 2020.

“The increases are the result of highly successful partnerships between the NJTPA and its member county and city governments to deliver vitally important projects on our local roads,” Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett, the current chair of the NJTPA, said. “This federal support helps free up local dollars, state aid and municipal aid for other priorities.”

The NJTPA board consists of one local elected official from each of the 13 counties in the region (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren) and the cities of Newark and Jersey City. The board also includes a governor’s representative, the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the CEO of New Jersey Transit, the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a citizens’ representative appointed by the governor.