PRINCETON: Demolition work to close portion of Witherspoon Street starting Jan. 16

A two-block stretch of Witherspoon Street needs to be closed for possibly up to four days starting Jan. 16 so a demolition crew can safely take down the last remaining building at the old Princeton Hospital.

The Princeton Council is scheduled to be briefed Monday on the proposed closure, the recommendation of the Princeton Police and the municipal engineering department, and then decide whether to sign off on it or not. The site is being cleared for a future AvalonBay 280-unit residential development.

Assuming the council goes along with the recommendation, Witherspoon would be closed between Birch and Franklin avenues, said town engineer Robert V. Kiser on Wednesday. The closure, taking effect at 7 a.m. on Jan.16, would apply to pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic, he said.

At minimum, the closure would last for two days and up to four to allow the demolition of the former seven-story building to be completed.

Clearly, theyre going to have to close Witherspoon Street to do that, Mayor Liz Lempert said Wednesday.

Crews from AvalonBays demolition company have taken all the other buildings on the property and most of the last one, although their work is weather dependent. If temperatures drop too low, demolition is halted because a misting machine, used to control the spread of dust, cannot be used because the mist turns to snow, Mr. Kiser said.

During this week, there has been limited demolition at the site, Mr. Kiser said.

Also, there cannot be any demolition if there is a blizzard.

See the original post:
PRINCETON: Demolition work to close portion of Witherspoon Street starting Jan. 16