Road work that began almost three years ago in Toms River could finally be finished by early spring, the state Department of Transportation said.

Construction at the intersection of Routes 166 and 37 begun in March 2016 but was soon interrupted by a transportation funding impasse and has snarled traffic and frustrated business owners whose driveways have been blocked periodically by the work.

But the project is finally winding down, and the onset of spring’s warmer weather will mean crews need just a few nights for termperature-sensitive repaving work on a quarter-mile stretch of Route 166, also known as Main Street, east and west of the intersection, from Old Freehold Road to Colfax Street, said Steve Schapiro, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

“The project is nearing completion,” Schapiro said in an email. “Final paving is scheduled to take place over several nights in early spring when the weather is warmer.”

The work includes improvements to traffic signals, drainage, sidewalks, and ramps linking Routes 166 and 37 to reduce congestion and hazardous back-ups, plus the relocation of gas and other utility lines. The intersection is just a few hundred feet east of the Garden State Parkway-Route 37 interchange.

After nearly three years of waiting, in December one local car wash owner contacted the Guinness Book of World Records folks nominating the intersection improvements as the longest-running project of its kind ever.

Word of the project’s impending completion, first reported by The Asbury Park Press, could come as a relief to commuters and other motorists in the area, as well as businesses subjected to headaches including occasionally being cut off from potential customers when construction blocked their entrances from the state highway.

Mayor Thomas Kelaher said he was hopeful, even optimistic, at the news, though after years of waiting and countless inquiries that he and his assistant could not answer, he was not ready to celebrate just yet.

“Seeing is believing. I hope they’re right,” Keleher said. “It has been a source of frustration. My secretary has the number for the DOT taped up at her desk for when people call about it.”

The $11.8 million project began in March 2016. But it was among some 1,000 non-essential road, bridge and rail projects interrupted when the state Transportation Trust Fund ran out of cash. Work only resumed much later, after Republican Gov. Chris Christie agreed to raise the state gasoline tax, the fund’s main revenue source, to pay for $16 billion in projects over eight years.

A view of the intersection on Route 37 looking west, toward the Garden State Parkway interchange.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.