State DOT Claims it Will Improve Water Basin Area at Route 17 Corridor

The state Department of Transportation has told the borough it will make improvements to the water basin at the base of the Route 17 corridor at Franklin Avenue as a result of a meeting between borough officials and the state representatives last week.

Ken Jobs, borough engineer, reported to the council Tuesday night, in regards to the recent meeting he and Mayor Rose Heck attended with members of the NJDOT, the project’s design engineer, environmental consultant and contractor. The meeting was held at the actual water basin site  during a rain storm which Jobs commented was a good thing as it showed the DOT members that the problems the borough has brought to their attention are 100 pecent accurate.

Jobs said the state representatives were receptive to most of the problems the borough has brought to their attention since the water basin was put in about a year ago however “action speaks louder than words” and the borough will have to see how the state proceeds in rectifying the problems.

Previously the area was a traffic island which the DOT converted into a water basin. Since the water basin was constructed, the borough has cited numerous problems including maintenance as the area is prone to littering by passerbys, flooding concerns as well as upkeep and appearance.

According to Jobs the DOT has agreed to make some needed repairs to the tan paved border which surrounds the basin  extending it to the fence which surrounds the basin so that there will be no grass around it that would need to be maintained. Also Jobs said  the environmental consultant agreed that the basin was not draining the way it should. He added that the state agreed to put in a low flow channel.