Lambertville OKs $600,000 for Quarry Street repair

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   LAMBERTVILLE — The City Council has authorized $600,000 for improvements to Quarry Street.
   ”It’s a very complicated project due to the size of the street and requests for pedestrian access on one part and parking on the other,” Mayor David Del Vecchio said Monday.
   The road is about a quarter mile long, narrow and winding.
   Complicating the improvement project is the fact the road is “up against the side of a mountain,” the mayor said.
   Quarry Street hugs Connaught Hill.
   The entire project is funded by a grant from the Delaware River Joint Toll Commission.
   The commission already has given the plan final approval, according to Public Works Director Paul Cronce.
   He told the council, “With your action here, we’re good to go.”
   Bids for the work are expected to be opened Oct. 16 at City Hall, Mr. Cronce said. If all goes as anticipated, the council could award a contract at its Oct. 20 meeting.
   Work on the project is expected to take about 60 days to complete, weather permitting, Mr. Cronce said.
   ”We want to move on it; get it done,” he said.
   The funds are part of a $650,000 grant the commission awarded to Lambertville in 2006 from a $40 million pot in its Compact Authorized Investment Program. The money is earmarked to help ease traffic congestion and other related problems on roads in river towns that host commission bridges.
   In a related matter, the council took action on another project that will be paid for with commission funds.
   Grant money from the same program will pay for a traffic signal at Route 165 and Swan Street.
   The city is waiting for design approval from the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
   In the meantime, the council Monday agreed to pay for the light’s electricity and maintenance. Also, after two years, if both the city and the DOT agree the signal’s installation was not a good idea, it would be removed.