Capital improvement program part of proposed budget.
By: Lea Kahn
Streets in the Nassau Estates neighborhood are among the township streets slated for a new layer of asphalt this year, under Lawrence Township’s proposed 2003 capital improvement program.
The capital improvement program, which is part of the 2003 municipal budget, has earmarked $2 million for the overlay program. Some of the work will be carried out by township Department of Public Works crews, and other work will be done by outside contractors. A timetable has not yet been worked out.
The overlay program calls for the top 2 inches of asphalt to be removed from the road’s surface, Municipal Engineer Christopher Budzinski said. A fresh, 2-inch layer of asphalt is applied on top. An overlay should last about 10 or 15 years, he said.
Streets are selected for the program based on a formula, Mr. Budzinski said. The level of usage of the road and its condition whether it has potholes, cracks in the pavement, adequate rainwater drainage and curbs are among the factors in the formula, he said.
Mr. Budzinski said that over the last 10 years, he has reviewed and ranked all of the 425 streets under township control. Each year, 50 streets are considered for the road program. A handful of streets for the overlay program are chosen from that list, he said.
"We have a pretty aggressive overlay program, I think," the municipal engineer said. In the last 10 years, about half of the 425 streets have been given a fresh coat of asphalt, he added.
In the Nassau Estates overlay program, work on the streets east of Princeton Pike, west of Glenn Drive and north of Allen Lane will be done by a paving company, Mr. Budzinski said. Those streets include Carnation Place, Cresthill Road, Empress Lane, Lotus Lane, Rita Road, Royal Oak Road, Temple Terrace and Tower Place.
Also, Stonicker Drive and a portion of Glenn Avenue between Stonicker Drive and Darrah Lane will be given a new layer of asphalt by a contractor. The township received a $150,000 grant toward the cost of the project from the state Department of Transportation. The speed humps on the two streets will be replaced, Mr. Budzinski said.
The work on streets east of Glenn Avenue, west of Stonicker Drive and north of Allen Lane will be done by township road crews, he said. Those streets include Camelia Court, Dogwood Drive, Rosalind Drive and Rosetree Lane.
Also, township road crews will apply a new layer of asphalt to Colonial Lake Drive, the northern section of Hopatcong Drive, Jochris Drive, Lenox Drive, Pilla Avenue, Sturwood Way and a section of Province Line Road between Route 206 and Carson Road. Those streets are scattered throughout the township.
And Mercer County plans to put a new layer of asphalt on Spruce Street, between Brunswick Avenue and Princeton Avenue, Mr. Budzinski said. Half of Spruce Street is in Lawrence Township and half is in the city of Trenton.

