Nutley Public Works notes ongoing work on our roads

The last two winters have taken a toll on Nutley streets. This has not gone unnoticed by the Nutley Public Works Department, as can be demonstrated by the numerous street closings due to ongoing paving projects.

Nutley Public Works Commissioner Joseph Scarpelli indicates that the scheduled street reconstructions are approximately halfway completed.

"Historically, the township appropriated $250,000 to $300,000 in our capital improvement budget to re-construct and re-surface our roadways. Obviously, that same amount of money does not pave as many roads as it did 15 to 20 years ago. For that reason and the past couple of terrible winters, the Nutley Board of Commissioners increased the amount to restore our roadways to close to $1 million," said Scarpelli. "I thank our residents for their patience as we look to finish the remainder of our planned projects."

The streets currently being re-paved are: Coeyman Avenue (between Bloomfield and Prospect), Elm Street, Newark Avenue, Mt. Vernon Street (between Bloomfield and Corsay, along with Wayside and Blum Lanes), Linn Road, Highfield Avenue (between Passaic and Whitford), Satterthwaite Avenue (from Passaic through North Road), and the short dead end of Lakeside Drive.

Also included are some intersections that are in bad shape with multiple potholes and old pothole repairs. They include Prospect and High, Prospect and Mountainview, Prospect and Chase, Ridge and Ohlson, Ridge and Glenview, Glenview and Watchung.

"We have also invested in equipment and staff that allows us to also do some in-house skim coat repair to some roads that are in between needing a complete re-construction and beyond a simple filling of potholes," said Scarpelli. "Thus far we have completed areas of Chestnut Street, Brookfield Avenue, Coeyman Avenue, Raymond Avenue, Grant Avenue, Crestwood Avenue, Van Winkle Avenue, Baltimore Street, Garden Place and Beech Street."

Besides the capital improvement budget, the township utilizes New Jersey Department of Transportation grants and Community Development Block Grants for repaving projects. The DOT grants are for major arteries. During the past several years, the entire lengths of Bloomfield and Passaic avenues were reconstructed with these monies. This summer Park Avenue was completed from Washington to Union Avenue with the grant.

The CDBG money is a federal program administered by the County of Essex. It is reserved for road reconstruction in specific US Census Blocks. The paving of Hancox and Conover Avenues are currently awaiting approval by the county.

"As part of our ADA requirement whenever we reconstruct a roadway we must upgrade to the current standard for handicap ramps at the crosswalks. We have also made a conscious decision to repair specific curbs, driveway aprons, and sidewalks to increase the longevity of the road re-paving," said Scarpelli. "We have also initiated a crack sealing program this year. Cracks will be filled in some of our recently paved roads in order to preserve and add life to the roadway."

The reconstruction projects should be completed by late fall. The Engineering Department has already started preparing for next years projects. Some of the criteria used to evaluate the roads to be considered for paving are the general condition of the road, number of roadway openings (PSEG/water/sewer repairs), and condition of the sub base of the roadway, alligator cracking, condition and height of curbs, the amount of traffic (i.e., main street versus dead end), drainage, geographic location (to spread out the repairs throughout the town), and the preliminary cost estimate of the re-construction.

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Nutley Public Works notes ongoing work on our roads