New police station still on schedule

Expected to open by summer’s end.

By: Josh Appelbaum
   Some plumbing and electrical work on the new $3.2 million Cranbury Police Station has been completed and inspected and the project is on schedule and on budget for an Aug. 28 completion.
   According to Mark Berkowsky, whose firm Berkowsky and Associates is managing the project, the under-slab plumbing and some electric work has been completed. He said submission of paperwork was nearly complete and all necessary permits have been obtained and are up to date. The first shipments of steel have arrived and framing should start in the next week.
   Mr. Berkowsky reported to the Township Committee on Monday that construction should progress normally through the winter months as long as there are no periods of prolonged inclement weather.
   "If we have a lot of snow, we have to shut down the site, but we can do the framing in cold weather. Unfortunately the guys have to work outside, but unless it’s below-zero weather, things should be normal," Mr. Berkowsky said.
   Mr. Berkowsky said masonry could be affected by cold weather because the concrete has to set at 40 degrees or above. Masonry work should begin toward the end of February, according to Mr. Berkowsky.
   The Township Committee awarded the contract for construction of a new police station to M&K Contracting on Aug. 30.
   Construction began in November after the contractor for the Station Road Home Depot warehouse vacated the site and the Holland House was moved. The police department is expected to move in by mid-September 2005.
   The Dec. 20 report was the third monthly update Mr. Berkowsky has given to the Township Committee.
   Under the current plan, the new police station will be a one-story, L-shaped, 16,000-square-foot building. It will be built on a 1.9-acre parcel on Station Road.