Bridgewater will fix more than 40 roads this year. Are they in your neighborhood?
BRIDGEWATER – More than 40 township roads will be improved this year under a proposal presented to the Township Council on Thursday.
The roadwork is part of the fourth year of a five-year $40 million project to upgrade township roads. Each year of the program has an $8 million budget.
Since the project was started, more than 200 roads have been upgraded, Tom Genova, the township's director of municipal services, told the Council.
"This project has been an exceptional success," he said.
Though the list of specific roads has not yet been finalized, Township Engineer Bill Burr gave a rough idea where the work will be done in the township's six regions.
Bradley Gardens: The Roanoke Road and Berwick Drive neighborhood and the west side of Milltown Road north of Old York Road.
Finderne: The Jamestown Road neighborhood between Union Avenue and Foothill Road.
Martinsville and Green Knoll: Somerset Avenue, Lawton Road and the Birch Hill Drive neighborhood off Foothill Road.
Northeastern section: The Perrine Road neighborhood and the Glen Road neighborhood off Vosseller Avenue south of Route 22.
Northern and central section: The north side of Sunset Lake, Long Road heading into Bernards and the Starview Way and Stella Drive neighborhood.
Western section: The Rolling Hills Road neighborhood, Love Road heading into Bedminster and the Candlewick Lane neighborhood.
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When the list is finalized and engineering contracts are awarded, the specific roads will appear on the “Current Projects” tracking sheet under the “Road Projects” tab at www.OurBWRoads.com.
Other roads may be added depending on how the bids come in, Burr said.
Packaging the roads together by neighborhood gives Bridgewater "the best bang for our buck," he said by reducing costs.
The Township Council needs to adopt a bond to fund the work as soon as possible so the projects can be completed before cold weather sets in at the end of next fall, he said.
There is a possibility, Burr said, a dozen more roads may be improved if the township reaches an agreement with PSE&G on upgrades to the roads where new gas lines have been installed.
The utility will pay for that work, Burr said.
The township engineer explained the process to determine which roads will be improved.
“We want to assure our residents that our approach to choosing roads every year follows an exhaustive, painstaking analytic process,” Burr said. “We look at the individual road quality scores, the distance to other roads needing remediation, proximity to both public and community facilities, and the overall square footage requiring remedy. We then group similarly scored roads and look for neighborhoods that we can package together to keep costs down as we go out to bid.”
The road program has been the hallmark of Mayor Matt Moench's first four years in office.
"I am proud of the work our professional team has accomplished thus far, and I know this year’s list represents an exhaustive process that has left no stone unturned in the search for the best possible outcomes for our residents,” Moench said in a statement.
For more information about the road project, visit www.OurBWRoads.com or call the Office of Constituent Relations at 908-725-6300 ext. 5888.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater NJ will fix more than 40 roads this year
