A driver questioned why a repaving job on a section of Route 22 resembled a patchwork quilt more than uniform lanes of blacktop.
Patchwork is a great look for quilts and comforters, but when highway paving is done in that fashion, drivers have questions.
Just such a question comes from a reader who described as "erratic" how Route 22 was repaved between Whitehouse and Somerville.
"It started out with both lanes being resurfaced and then (sections) skipped over and then finished with only one lane getting resurfaced," he wrote. "I cannot believe that skipping over small patches could have possibly saved money for the state. Now it looks like a road that is half done and will require more work in a few years."
He had no issue with the quality of the work that the contractor did, but questioned why that section of Route 22 wasn't completely repaved. Was it done that way to save money, he asked?
Q: I would be interested in knowing how much was saved by not doing both lanes.
A: The answer is that the work on Route 22 was not intended to be a full repaving job, but to address problem areas that were too large for state Department of Transportation maintenance crews to handle. in short, it wasn't done that way for cost saving reasons, DOT officials said.
"The work performed on Route 22 in that area was a limited scope resurfacing and a rehabilitation project aimed at improving the road surface, until a more complete repair project begins in 2018," said Kevin Israel, a DOT spokesman.
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The patching was done to address "numerous complaints" about specific sections of the highway. he said.
"They were beyond the ability for the crews to simply maintain," Israel said. "Heavy patches and other repairs were made, which will help improve the driving conditions and improve safety for motorists."
So the DOT plans to return to Route 22 in 2018 to do the full paving job you expected. Let us know how that work progresses after it starts.
We took a week off from answering questions related to the Transportation Trust Fund construction shut down, which ranged from where the money from that fund goes to the debate over how much it costs to reconstruct a mile of highway in New Jersey.
We're still taking those trust fund and construction shut down questions. You can email or tweet them to the addresses in the tag line.
Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.