Streetscape project to enhance downtown business area
By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
PLUMSTED The Township Committee has awarded a contract that allows construction to begin on the downtown New Egypt sidewalk project, which officials expect to be completed in time for the Plumsted Fall Festival on Oct. 30.
The $147,880 contract was awarded to Curb Con Inc. of Barnegat, the lowest responsible bidder of the three companies that submitted proposals, according to the resolution that was approved at a special Sept. 22 Township Committee meeting.
The project entails about 300 feet of new sidewalk on Main Street from the bridge at Crosswicks Creek to Evergreen Road, according to Peter Ylvisaker, the executive director of Main Street New Egypt, which works to promote both the historic and economic redevelopment of the downtown business district.
The new sidewalks will be wider and have “bump-outs” that serve to slow down traffic and shorten the distance that pedestrians must walk to cross the street, Mr. Ylvisaker said. The project also calls for period lighting and landscaping.
The work will start immediately and wrap up by mid-October so that the county can proceed with the milling and repaving project that it has planned for Main Street and North Main Street, Mr. Ylvisaker said last week. A full signalization traffic light will also be installed at the intersection of Main Street and Maple Avenue to provide a break in traffic flow for downtown shoppers and motorists.
”We are under tight timelines, but the contractor is familiar with that,” Mr. Ylvisaker said. “We need to have the curb work done before the county can start its road project.”
The goal is to have the sidewalks installed and the road repaved in time for the hundreds of visitors expected on Oct. 30 for the Plumsted Fall Festival, he said.
The money for the sidewalk project will come from what remains of a $543,000 interest-free state loan that the township received for a series of downtown revitalization projects, including improvements at Volunteer Park, the new municipal parking lot at 6 Main St., and signage, Mr. Ylvisaker said.
The $147,880 sidewalk expenditure “pretty much exhausts” the balance that was left of the original $543,000 state loan, Mr. Ylvisaker said. Additional funding will be sought from the state for future projects, he said.
The Township Committee voted 3-0 to award the contract, with Mayor Ron Dancer, Deputy Mayor David Leutwyler, and Township Committeeman Jack Trotta voting yes at the special meeting. Committeemen Steve Reed and Eric Sorchik were absent.