Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-11-08
$4,000 ALLOWED
FOR COUNTY ROAD
Ordnance Corps of Army AT
lows Money to Repair South
Amboy Road From Bridge
to Morgan

Plans for one of the most important
road improvements that has been
made in New Jersey since the day o.
the automobile, were nsumate tntS
week. when at the suggestion OF n
Highways Transport Committee OF
New Jersey. composed largely OF
members of the Motor Truck Club OF
that state, the United States War De-
partment, through Its Ordnance De-
partment, granted an appropriation
of S21, 900 to build a new road from
the southern end Of the Amboy bridge
to Bordentown Avenue in South AM
boy. The road - to be built as a war
measure as 1t Is absolutely necessary
in order to continue the rotor truck
ing OF supplies and finished materiaI
this winter to and from the govern
ment loading plants at Morgan Sta
ton.
The road covers a distance of W
miles and when 1t Is completed Ii VIII
complete a straight stretch of hard
pavement from Newark to the shore
localities of Red Bank, Long Branch
and Asbury Park. This stretch which
was Of gravel construction, and about
the worst piece of thoroughfare In
the state has been a missing link IN
New Jerseys good roads. 1t Will
bring about the elimination of the no.
torious Hole In the WALL" a tunnel
under the Pennsylvania Railroad at
the entrance to South Amboy. the pri-
vate right of way of the Pennsylvania,
running parallel being adopted for the
new route instead of the old hole
road.
The new construction will be tenn
porary for the winter, and will consist
of a bed of trap rock with a tar binder
for the surface. 1t Is to be completed
before December 1, to nave II down
before the SHOWS come. Then as part
OF the agreement by which the war
Department makes the temporary i'm
provement, the New Jersey State
Highway Commission has agreed to
take It over and make it part of the
state road system and build a perman-
ent road next summer.
The improvement on this stretch OF
road has been held up for years be-
cause of a disagreement between the
city of South Amboy and the Penn
~sylvania Railroad Company. The lat
ter wanted the Hole In the Wall
road abandoned but this South AM
boy declined to do. AS a consequences,
the Pennsylvania refused to deed its
strip to Middlesex county in which
South Amboy is located. With the
government taking over the railroads
and its designation of this road i'm
provement as a war necessity, the OBJ
jectionS of both South Amboy and the
railroad were overcome.
The plans for this new road were
worked out at a meeting of the New
Jersey Highways Transport Commit
tee, army officials and officials of the
municipalities of Perth, a week ago.
The suggestion for the road as adopt
ed was made by L. ]. Wasser, Hudson
county engineer, and engineer of the
New Jersey committee. These the
committee approved and designated a
special committee to visit Washing
ton last Saturday. November 2. There
a conference was held with Wal De-
partment officials and members of the
National Highways Transport Com
mittee. which brought their approval
and the appropriation from the War
Department. Priority orders for the
material ave been secured n the
work will be started e week under
government contract.
An indication of the Importance of
the road is shown by a count made
there November 1, when 794 trucks
.. M, during the same time Lib
passenger cars passed over 1t. At the
Gillespie Loading Company plant, two
motor trucks are loaded every minute
of the day for passage over the road
The committee of Jerseymen who
went to Washington on the project
was composed of David Harper. chair
man of the committees: Thomas J..
Wasser. Charles t. Kavanagh, Charles
Milbauer and Alfred ID. Way. Jr., Sec
rotary of the Highways Transport
Committee. Mayor A. T.. Kerr. South
Amboy, Edward Z. Reed. assistant
state engineer. New Jersey Highway
Department. Alvin Fox. Middlesex
County Engineer and Clarence Haight,
Middlesex county freebooter.