TThis letter is in response to the letter to the editor in the Aug. 30 News Tran-script submitted by Kathleen Brooks of Howell concerning the closure of Bergerville Road.
First, I must emphasize that the sole reason the township closed this portion of Bergerville Road was to ensure the safety of the traveling public. The severe erosion of the Manasquan River stream bank at this site is immediately adjacent to Bergerville Road.
As a result, Bergerville Road is subsiding. This necessitated closing the road on June 26, not in early June as stated by Ms. Brooks.
This site has deteriorated rapidly since the township made its initial application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the mid 1990s. The Army Corps’ sponsorship and funding assistance for the project was suspended based upon a determination that the erosion was not severe.
More recently, however, the erosion has gravely worsened in this location, necessitating immediate action on the part of the township.
With the assistance of Con-gressman Christopher Smith’s office, my staff and I met several times with the Army Corps and the N.J. Department of Environ-mental Protection to find and fund a long-term solution to this problem.
The cost of this project will be substantial and will require an elaborate structure to stem the course of the erosion.
We await word from the Army Corps regarding their preparation of a survey of the location and their funding assistance. As you can see, the township has to coordinate with numerous individuals at both the state and federal levels in order to obtain a long-term remedy to this problem.
In order to reopen the road as soon as possible, however, steps were taken to put in place a short-term repair. In this regard, the township went out to bid for the project and proceeded with the required bid notification procedures.
The bids were opened on Aug. 1 and the low bid accepted. The consulting engineer reviewed the successful contract package, a preconstruction meeting was held on Aug. 18 and the contractor requested a private utility mark-out company to perform a utility mark-out of the area. A final field meeting was held on Aug. 31, and materials were delivered on site.
At this writing the contractor awaits completion of the utility mark-out so that he can begin work. If the mark-out is done in time, the contractor would like to begin work on Sept. 5. Thereafter, the project should be completed in approximately one and a half weeks.
Jacqueline A. Ascione
Township Manager
Howell

