Officials Are Fed Up With 'Overgrown Mess' at Route 17 Water Basin

Borough officials continue to voice their frustrations with the state Department of Transportation regarding what officials call an “overgrown mess” – the environmental basin at the Route 17 corridor at Franklin Avenue.

The piece of property that lies in between the highway and an exit lane to Franklin Avenue was converted into a water basin more than a year ago by the state.

Although the state did have the right of way to convert the property, which was formerly a traffic island, into a water basin, borough officials and its engineer say they have repeatedly brought their concerns regarding maintenance, safety and flooding to the state DOT officials since "before a shovel even touched the ground,” according to Mayor Rose Heck.

Officials discussed the current state of the property Tuesday night during the work session meeting. The mayor asked Mike Kronyak, borough administrator, to put together a report of everything that is wrong with the property stating that she will personally deliver it to Trenton.

She openly stated that she is tired of seeing the DOT not care for its own property. Officials stated that the grass at the basin has now grown to about 5 to 6 feet high.

A recent meeting between the mayor, Borough Engineer Kenneth Job and members from the state DOT along with their environmental consultant resulted in the with the site including installing a low-flow channel to improve the drainage at the site. However on Tuesday, Job reported that the state officials are beginning to contradict what they agreed to back in May. 

One of the other agreements the DOT made in May was to remove the grassy area on the outer portion of the property. This was completed shortly after that meeting and the area has now been filled in with concrete.