Sycamore Avenue railroad crossing to close for repairs

The railroad crossing at Sycamore Avenue in Little Silver will be closed for two weeks in July to undergo repairs, Mayor Suzanne S. Castleman announced Monday night. “I’ve had a lot of complaints of people bottoming out on it, including myself,” she said at a borough council meeting.

The mayor said she met with Tom Clark of NJ Transit to establish a July 8 start date for the project.“It will be a mess,” she said. “There’s nothing else I can say because it’s going to be two weeks. We’ll just have to grin and bear it…it too will pass.”

Temporary traffic lights will be installed at Rumson Road and Branch Avenue, as well as on White Road and Branch Avenue, before the bridge on Seven Bridges Road by Point Road School is replaced. Although there is no start date scheduled for the latter assignment, Castleman said traffic lights should be installed at the site prior to the start of construction in order to properly direct drivers through road detours.

Also at the meeting:

• The council accepted a bid from Allied Oil LLC in Hillsborough, N.J. to provide premium-grade, oxygenated unleaded gasoline and low-sulfur diesel fuel in the amount of $2.7753 per gallon ($0.1490/gallon delivery) for a two-year term to run from Apr. 1, 2011 through Mar. 31, 2012.
• The council approved a resolution to designate Planning Board secretary Diane Ramsey as Deputy Zoning Officer for the Borough of Little Silver, effective Mar. 16, 2011.
• Mayor Castleman reminded all in attendance that, on Mar. 10, there will be a community presentation on the Parker Homestead at 7 p.m. in the municipal courtroom, where consultants will give a presentation on what they believe should be done with the property. Castleman said she thinks their first move should be “to redo the barns before they fall down. “
• The council approved a resolution endorsing the submission of a Municipal Recycling Tonnage Grant Application to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. If approved, the grant would provide between $8,000 and $10,000 to the borough to encourage local source separation and recycling programs.
• During the workshop portion of the evening, the borough council commended the Little Silver Police Department for their part in keeping Riverview Medical Center open during the December snowstorm. Councilman David E. Gilmour, who also serves on the Community Advisory Board at Riverview, said borough police officials were instrumental in transporting employees to and from the hospital during the blizzard, occasionally with the use of their own vehicles.