The Urban Youth Corps summer jobs program will be beautifying New Jersey highways and urban gateways for the second consecutive year, according to New Jersey’s Christie Administration.

The summer jobs program, which was revived last year after several years of dormancy, will create employment opportunities for hundreds of young adults who will develop essential employment skills while designing and carrying out roadway enhancement projects.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) says it anticipates awarding 12 grants of up to $32,000 each, as it did last year, according to a press release from the agency.

Grant proposals should target areas near state roads that are chronically plagued by litter, graffiti, overgrown vegetation or other aesthetic issues, according to the NJDOT.  Grant applications can be obtained online and are due March 8, 2013.

Each federally funded grant will support stipends for about 10 young adults ages 16 to 25 years old and a supervisor, as well as equipment and supplies.

Since its launch in the summer of 2010, “Clean Up New Jersey” has included dozens of concentrated highway cleanup efforts by NJDOT’s workforce of nearly 500 maintenance and operations workers. During these efforts, all maintenance needs along a selected segment of highway are addressed, including litter pick-up, mowing, vegetation trimming, guiderail repair, and graffiti eradication.

Other components of the initiative include litter pick-up and grass trimming by Department of Corrections inmates, wildflower plantings and a revived Adopt-A-Highway program.  The summer Urban Youth Corps program is a crucial element to the campaign.