The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-12-01
NEW ROAD WILL
SOON Be PAVED
Board of Freeholders Intend to
Improve Highway Between
Pleasantville and Absecon.
AN EIGHTY FOOT BOULEVARD

For a long time there has been a
movement on the part of citizens of
this city, Absecon, Linwood and Som
ers Point to have a new highway open
ed up along the mainland between Alb
secon and Somers Point, to relieve
congestion on the Shore road (Main
street as it runs through Pleasant
ville). This desire of the people is
about to be contaminated, not in the
location that many had hoped for, but
at the same time in a location that
will greatly benefit traffic conditions.
The widening and paving of New
road. between Pleasantville and Abse-
con is about to be started by the Coun-
ty Freeholders. New road was select
ed, it is reported, because it can be
improved at a much less cost to the
County than If an entirely new boule-
ward was laid out and paved on the
meadow side of the Shore road.
The work is to be started in early
spring and will be completed before
the end of summer. Preliminary work
has already been done in widening it
to 80 feet and cutting down hills, slic-
ing off curves and laying a hard grav-
ell surface with costly binder material.
The cost is estimated at $4,000 a
mile. The distance to be paved is
about two and one-half miles. 1t will
be the first paved boulevard of S0-foot
width in the county.
The decision of the county authori-
ties to widen and pave New road is
based on several important considera-
tons, according to a statement of a
county official now engaged in apprais-
mo tho AaTa UnS IN n1~nnn1fu ntfrvf ORC
along the highway to be improved.
First-It will be the cheapest and
easiest method of relieving the sum
mer congestion of Shore road between
Absecon and P~leasantville, a conges-
ton rendered doubly dangerous by the
presence of a trolley line. Second-It
costs the county now upwards of s12,-
600 a year to maintain in proper condi-
ton New road,s which cost will be
eliminated by the improvement,
Third-New road is the nearest outlet
from the White Horse pike for auto
lists bound to Atlantic City, and, there
fore, extensively used by them Fourth
New road is much patronized by
autoists IN pleasure drives on the
Mainland.
AS to cheapness, county officials as
sert that great majority of prop
erty holders on the contemplated new
boulevard have signed agreements to
donate the county strips of land on
each side of the required width of sc
feet to the improved highway. There
is a general realization that the i'm
provement will double the value OF
their property in a few years. The
county thus escapes the high cost OF
buying the abutting land on the high
way. The only other ways of reliev-
ing Shore roads congestion are by
paving Absecon boulevard across the
meadows or building a new boulevard
parallel to Shore road on the mead
ows. Both enterprises have been con-
siderably discussed, and no doubt will
ultimately be carried out. But the
cost of either enterprise would be too
big for the tax payers at present to
carry. The Board of Freeholders did
start to pave Absecon boulevard, but
a tax payers suit tied it up in the
courts.
Making a wide paved boulevard out
of New road will cost about 100000
whereas either of the above mention
ed congestion relief" methods would
cost considerably over half a million
dollars. A third method proposed was
to widen the Shore road, but was
abandoned owing to its prohibitive
cost.
Paving New road is considered by
the county authorities as the ideal way
out of the congestion difficulty; and
residents and property owners along
that highway are unanimous in con
frming the idea, it is said.