Sewer project and road
improvements continue
By josh davidson
Staff Writer
MATAWAN — The borough is in the process of replacing sewers at Miriam Drive and Miriam Place.
Work began at the beginning of the month to replace all the sewers and water lines there, which were installed when the development was first built about 50 years ago, Councilman Michael Cannon said.
"What is there now is the original sewers," he said. "They’ve never been touched or replaced the entire time that development has been there, and some of the piping there was in dire need of replacing."
The project is expected to last 30 years, according to Cannon.
This phase of the project will not include roads, he added.
New drains will also be put in at the Edgemere Heights section of town, near Route 34, Cannon said, noting that there have been water draining problems in that area.
Water lines have already been replaced on Route 516 from Main Street to the Old Bridge border, and improvements to borough roads will be made in the 2003 road program, which will include finishing Middlesex Road, he said.
Roadway replacement and curbing repairs have already been done on half the road, and speed bump devices will be added there as well, he added. Residents there have complained of speeding, traffic and large trucks on the road, according to Cannon.
"We’re trying to eliminate some of the truck traffic on the road, because it’s a small road," he said.
Trucks cannot be banned on the road, but the device can deter them from using it and slow cars down, Cannon said.
"We came up with the plan of putting three traffic calming devices in," Cannon said, explaining that the devices are raised in the road to force cars to slow down to the speed limit.