BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer
LINDADENICOLA Drainage pipes along Hance Avenue and Apple Street wait to be installed underground. TINTON FALLS – Rows of large pipes laid out along Hance Avenue, aka County Route 51, will be going underground soon.
The county has already started digging the burrow for the drainage project that will solve a standing water problem at and near the road’s intersection at Apple Street.
The Hance Avenue drainage project also includes a new traffic signal at Apple Street. According to Joseph M. Ettore, county engineer, the drainage project will be completed by late August/early September.
“The anticipated completion date of Aug. 26 includes the light. The $690,000 project is being done by B&B Construction, Howell,” he said last week.
In the meantime, traffic will be maintained, although there may be some lane restrictions.
“The plan is not to close the road entirely, however it will have obvious impact on traffic by reducing some of the land width,” he said.
Ettore explained that the pipes will be going in under the first 2 feet at the edge of the pavement because they have to line up with the inlets, which are within 2 feet of the curb line on the roadway.
The drainage pipes will be installed on the northbound side of Hance Avenue at Cherry Street, which is two blocks north of Apple Street, and extend to just across from the road that leads to the Swimming River School.
The water will drain to an outfall pipe that crosses Hance Avenue and drains into the Swimming River.
“We’re doing our best to minimize disturbance to the trees. But, sometimes, the root systems are damaged, which leaves an unsafe situation. For safety reasons we are obligated to remove those trees,” he said.
He said when installation of the traffic light begins, there will be more significant disruptions at Apple Street.
The traffic light is necessary to provide a break in traffic so motorists on Apple Street can get onto Hance, a popular cut-through road to and from Newman Springs Road and the Garden State Parkway entrance, Ettore said.
The traffic light is being paid for by the Red Bank Veterinary Clinic, which is new at that location and would be contributing to an already congested situation. The clinic contributed $100,000 and the work was assigned to the county.
“We’ll do our best to make sure we get out of there before Labor Day,” Ettore said.