Somerset County Announces 2023 “Slurry Seal” Road Repairs   

Board of County Commissioners Authorized Up to $1.26M to Restore Approximately Nine Miles of County Roads in Five Municipalities

SOMERVILLE, NJ – Somerset County will implement the efficient and low-cost “slurry seal” road improvement process again in the summer of 2023, saving taxpayers money and reducing the impact on local drivers in the process. The Commissioners authorized funding of $1.26 million to overlay almost nine miles of roads throughout Somerset County.  

“Somerset County is responsible for ensuring that hundreds of miles of local and regional roads are safe and maintained, and that means making improvements to a portion of our roadways each year,” said Somerset County Commissioner Melonie Marano, liaison to Public Works. “We work hard to keep the costs and impact on traffic down as much as possible when performing road work. Over the past few years, the use of the ‘slurry seal’ process has accomplished both goals even beyond our expectations.” 

The slurry seal process is used to extend the life of pavement on roads that need maintenance but do not yet require full replacement. Eventually all roads require milling and paving, but the use of slurry seal reduces long-term expenses by cost-effectively expanding the time between milling and paving projects by five years or more. As a result, the County decreases the overall cost of maintaining its 250 miles of roadway while keeping or improving roadway conditions and motorist safety. 

Additionally, the slurry seal process takes significantly less time than milling and paving, reducing the impact on local motorists as they travel to shopping, work, and recreation. The process does require temporary road closures, but such closures are scheduled overnight to reduce the impact on commutes and daytime travel. 

The work is anticipated to begin in mid-summer, and all work in the contract will be completed in calendar year 2023. The specific roads included in the contract are: 

• CR641 Burnt Mills Road in Bedminster/Branchburg from CR640 Burnt Mills Road to Easton Turnpike 
• CR567 Old York Road in Branchburg from Route 202 to North Branch Bridge 
• CR567 South Branch Road in Branchburg from Old York Road to Chubb Way 
• CR621 Elizabeth Ave in Franklin from Amwell Road to 300’ North of New Brunswick Road 
• CR613 North Finley Ave in Bernardsville/Bernards from Route 202 to West Oak Street 
• CR613 South Finley Ave in Bernards from West Oak Street to Cross Road