Four road projects eyed for Pennington

Bids can be sought now that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has approved engineering plans for the work.

By John Tredrea
   Pennington Borough is planning to advertise soon for bids from contractors to work on four streets earmarked for resurfacing.
   The bids can be sought now that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has approved engineering plans for the work, borough Councilman David Garber said during Monday night’s council meeting. Mr. Garber is council’s liaison to the Department of Public Works.
   Crawley and O’Hanlon avenues will get curbs and sidewalks — they have neither now — in addition to road reconstruction work. That job will cost about $100,000, Borough Engineer Donald Fetzer estimated. Improvements to Reading Street and West Welling Avenue, which are considerably longer than Crawley and O’Hanlon, will cost about $300,000.
   Council members and Mayor Jim Loper agreed to make an effort to expedite the bidding process and other preparatory legal and engineering work as soon as possible, in the hope that work on all four streets will be finished before winter.
   Several hundred feet long, Crawley Avenue runs north-south off Academy Street in the central section of the borough. About 50 feet long, O’Hanlon Avenue is a very short east-west street that connects Crawley to Burd Street. Reading Avenue runs north-south near the western edge of the borough. West Welling Avenue runs west from South Main Street, near Toll Gate Grammar School, to the borough line.
   All four streets are residential and two-way. For years, the borough has improved several streets a year, thus spreading the work out while ensuring that no street goes too long without maintenance to rectify wear and tear.