County Wishes to Extend Route 537 Through Fort Monmouth Property

Monmouth County officials have announced plans to extend Route 537 (Tinton Avenue) through the former Fort Monmouth property in Eatontown and Oceanport.

Route 537 currently ends at Route 35 in Eatontown, but the county is now looking to extend the road through the property and make it the "main collector road" once the fort develops and more businesses begin to open there.

The road would run from the Avenue of Memories at the main gate of Fort Monmouth on the Eatontown side, all the way to main entrance on the Oceanport side on Oceanport Avenue.

Monmouth County Engineer Joe Ettore recently explained the plan to the Eatontown Council and said the project would help alleviate congestion in the area.

"The congestion will only be compounded as the fort develops," Ettore said this week. "It would relieve congestion on all the surrounding roads which are a nightmare right now."

Mayor Gerald Tarantolo said he disagreed with the plan and said he did not believe the road going through Fort Monmouth should be a county road.

"I don't see why it has to be a county road," Mayor Tarantolo said. "I saw the Avenue of Memories as a municipal road leading to our new town center (in Fort Monmouth."

Councilman Dennis Connelly disagreed and said making it a county road could be beneficial.

"I'm not sure why we are fighting making it a county road," Councilman Connelly said. "We don't have to pay for it if it's a county road."

Councilman Connelly said the county would be responsible for paving, plowing and maintaining the road, which would save the borough money.

The county filed a notice of intent (NOI) for the project with the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMERPA), now known as the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), several years ago, and would require approval from the authority to extend the road.