JACKSON — An estimated $4 million road improvement project planned for Route 571 near Francis Mills in Jackson is among a list of 21 pending projects scheduled to be completed during the next decade, according to documents released by the New Jersey Department of Transportation .

According to the FY2012-21 State-wide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and the FY 2012 Transportation Capital Program (TCP), a number of safety improvements on Route 571 spanning from 500 feet north of Leesville Road to 500 feet south of Reed Road are needed.

The documents cite Route 571’s susceptibility to single-vehicle accidents due to the layout of the road. The description of the project states that an existing bridge is “functionally obsolete and should be replaced.”

Project number NS0601 consists of the realignment of Route 571 to “improve horizontal and vertical geometry,” as well as creating two 12-foot-wide lanes, two 10- foot-wide shoulders and a complete replacement of the bridge.

“That project is included as a line item in our local projects category. … It is a local aid issue, so the money itself comes through the state, allocated thorough the DOT, but the project itself will be handled through Ocean County,” DOT spokesman Timothy Greeley said. “The money is in the current capital program and is going to that project. ”

Route 571 is a county road.

The DOT will be involved in the project in a general oversight capacity, Greeley said .

The work is listed in the STIP as a project for FY2012 (July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012).

The money for the project is coming from the Local System Support plan, which provides $165 million for municipalities and counties through the state aid program, along with $25 million from the Local Bridge Initiatives program.

Greeley told the Tri-Town News that in total, about $438 million for such projects originate from federal and state funded support .

While the STIP lists the projected cost of the Route 571 project at $4 million, the actual cost has yet to be determined, Greeley said. The actual cost will be determined when the county goes out to bid for the work, he said.

If the actual cost of the project exceeds the projected amount, county officials will have a chance to request additional funding from the state.

Design work for the Route 571 improvements has been completed.