After Decades of Accidents and Avoidance, Intersection Finally Improved

At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 20, Monmouth County Freeholder John P. Curley flipped a switch inside a large black box at the intersection of Harding Road (County Route 34) and Prospect Avenue to give the people of Fair Haven, Little Silver and Red Bank the traffic light they've desired there for years.

"It's done," said Curley, as the light on Prospect changed from a flashing red to a solid red, and the flashing yellow on Harding became a solid green.

Residents are hoping that with the improvements, which include features such as easier-to-see, cost-effective LED signal lights along with road widening to accomodate dedicated left turn lanes on Harding, all the accidents and aggravation that formerly came with the intersection are done, too. 

"The intersection has always been a nightmare," said Curley, a longtime Red Bank resident. "It's actually an intersection that over the years I've made every attempt to avoid, because you could get stuck here, and people weren't terribly gracious in letting anyone out."

Little Silver Councilman Robert C. Neff, Jr. agreed, and noted that his mother was involved in an accident here about 30 years ago which left her with a punctured lung when her car was T-boned by driver who ran a stop sign.

"I remember getting the call from Harold Scott, one of our first aid guys, and he said 'you know your mom's been involved in an accident' and I just wasn't surprised when I heard it happened here," said Neff.

 said she's opted to use Spring Street for years because it was so difficult to make a left onto Harding coming down Prospect from Little Silver.

"When my kids were toddlers going to Tower Hill preschool, I often went out of my way to avoid the turn and traveled via Spring Street," said Murray. 

"In recent years, I've seen lots of traffic immediately following dismissal making it critical I leave before 2:25 p.m. if I wanted a shot at making a safe left turn."

The project cost $445,620 to complete and work began in November, but was delayed due to winter weather. Construction work included new curb cut backs to improve vehicular turning movements, a power box that provides eight hours of battery life for the lights in the event of a power failure, push buttons for pedestrian crossing signals, and cross walks. 

There are also cameras at the light, but according to John Tobia, Monmouth County Director of Public Works and Engineering, the cameras are not used by law enforcement, but rather by the county to assess traffic patterns and make changes to light durations.

Though the intersection has required improvements for decades, implementing the changes has been a slow process, said Curley.

"Everything that's done on any road within the county or a municipality or the state has to be approved by the New Jersey State Department of Transportation. That includes changing a line on the road or putting up a sign ... and that's why there are great deliberations over a long, long period of time."

Curley said deceased former Red Bank mayor and New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Daniel O'Hern was one of the greatest proponents of the project.

"I'm sure he's looking down on us now with a big smile," said Curley at the dedication, also mentioning the work of former Red Bank mayor Ed McKenna, current Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna, Little Silver Mayor , and Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre as instrumental to the project's completion.

"It's a collaborative effort, it's not just one level of government, though this is a county project, but I'm very proud to have led the charge," said Curley.