With summer just about here, the Shamong Township Committee will be delving into an array of projects, many of which deal with road conditions.
“We are in a situation in which we need a lot of money for the roads over the next five years,” Mayor Kenneth Long said. “We’ve got a daunting initiative in front of us.”
However, the committee is doing whatever it can to generate income without relying on a tax increase for residents.
“We are very aware of these issues and have started to work on ways we can bring in revenue to Shamong to help in resurfacing our problem roadways,” Long said.
The committee and township officials have already passed resolutions authorizing bids for the reconstruction of a large portion of Forked Neck Road and micro surfacing of eight development streets.
The Forked Neck Road project is being done using a $196,000 state DOT grant. After surveying the stretch up to Route 206, engineer Dante Guzzi is now working on the design.
Though it was not in the original plans, the potential idea of extending across Route 206 is in the works.
“We’re going to pave as much as the grant will allow us to,” Guzzi said.
Guzzi also brought up the opportunity to do it under state contract to save some money.
Doing it this way would save an approximate 15 percent between the contractor savings and the savings for the township not having to get practices together.
Based on the quantities laid out, the town is looking at paying $179,000 when it was prepared to pay $230,000. This includes base repairs, crack sealing and trap control.
“We’re still going to oversee the construction and make sure everything is done right,” Guzzi said. “I think it’s a win, win situation.”
This route will not consist of a repaving of the road but a micro surfacing of it, which Guzzi thought was a better plan.
“It’s not a paving, but what we’re going to do is patch it and extend the life of the road for years to come,” Guzzi said.
The town will also be going out to bid for the repair/resurfacing of the tennis courts at Dingletown and Stoney Creek Complexes and the basketball court at Stoney Creek Complex.
This is another grant that was received from Burlington County Freeholders for $75,000.
“At Dingletown, they had to rip out the existing basketball court,” Township Administrator/Clerk Sue Onorato said. “They will be repaving both courts and replacing the nets as well.”
In addition, they will be adding fences to Stoney Creek so vehicles are no longer able to get up there and do burnouts on the basketball court.
Another task that was discussed was the Wallingford Way repaving project that was originally budgeted for $76,169.
“The only changeover we have on this is $2,741 to repair a section of Delt Court,” Onorato said.
