LAMBERTVILLE: North Union project receives DOT grant

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   LAMBERTVILLE — The New Jersey Department of Transportation has awarded Lambertville a $175,000 grant to improve the city’s infrastructure.
   The funds will pay for new sidewalks, drainage and the reconstruction of North Union Street from Elm Street to Perry Street.
   ”Our town may be historic, but our infrastructure doesn’t have to be,” Mayor David Del Vecchio said.
   The mayor said the city is “grateful” to Gov. Chris Christie and DOT Commissioner James S. Simpson for the award.
   The completion of this project will mark a milestone, according to Mayor Del Vecchio. At the time of its conclusion, all three of the city’s hills and every street in the downtown area will have been upgraded during the mayor’s nearly two-decade tenure, he said.
   The city will be responsible for paying the project’s associated engineering costs, the mayor said, but he did not supply a figure.
   The grant will come from the DOT’s Fiscal year 2011 Municipal Aid Program.
   The Municipal Aid Program is a popular and highly competitive program, according to the DOT. For this year’s funds, the DOT received 677 applications seeking more than $246 million. There was $78.75 million available from the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.
   In its letter announcing the award to the city, the agency said, “NJDOT is committed to providing statewide assistance for local governments for improvements to and preservation of the local transportation network. The completion of our project will help achieve this goal and pursue a transportation strategy that provides mobility through managing the local roadway system.”
   The project is likely to get under way in the spring, Mayor Del Vecchio said. It is Phase 2 for North Union Street.
   Phase 1, from Delaware Avenue to Buttonwood Street, was paid for by a similar DOT grant announced in 2009, for $165,000.
   North Union Street is considered a vital transportation link between the residential and commercial districts.
   STOCKTON BOROUGH can expect $155,937 for Old Prallsville Road improvements, according to the Christie Administration.
   In a recent news release about the grants program, William G. Dressel Jr., executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, was quoted as saying: “This announcement is great news for hundreds of municipalities as they work to stretch their resources, control spending and reduce the property tax burden on residents.”
   For a list by county of all 370 projects selected for grants, visit: www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/temp/MAApprovalListByCounty0211.pdf.