Ordinance formalizes road closure procedures
By: Lea Kahn
Aiming to prevent surprise road closures for nonemergency purposes, Township Council has introduced an ordinance that requires contractors to notify the township in advance.
The ordinance, which was introduced at the council’s July 15 meeting, grew out of the unexpected closure of a portion of Lawrence Station Road last month. A public hearing on the ordinance has been scheduled for the council’s Aug. 19 meeting.
Lawrence Township requires advance notice before a road is closed, but the contractor failed to provide it, Municipal Manager William Guhl said. The ordinance formalizes the requirements and procedures that need to be followed for a road to be closed, he said.
The ordinance would not apply to such instances as closing a road for a neighborhood block party or to fix a water leak in an emergency, Mr. Guhl said. It is intended to address road closings that are needed if the roadway is being redesigned or relocated, he said.
Although contractors may request that a road be closed, it would be up to the municipal engineer to determine whether it should be closed, according to the ordinance.
Written notice of a proposed road closing must be provided to the municipal engineer, the police chief, the chiefs of the three volunteer fire companies and the first aid squad, the director of the township’s Office of Emergency Management, and the schools superintendent. If the road closing affects public transportation, then written notice must be provided to New Jersey Transit.
Contractors would be required to put up signs notifying the public of a road closure at least seven days before it would be closed, according to the ordinance. If there is a detour, then signs also must be installed by the contractor before the road is closed. The signs must be approved by the municipal engineer.
A detour plan that sets out an alternate route must be approved by the municipal engineer, the ordinance said. If the detour plan includes roads that belong to another town or Mercer County or the state, written approval must be provided by the appropriate governmental authority.
Violators would be subject to a fine of up to $500, imprisonment for up to 90 days, or by both a fine and imprisonment.