County Going Out to Bid for Schooley's Mountain Guard Rails Repair

At Monday night's Township Committee meeting, Mayor Ken Short announced that Morris County is sending out bid requests for repairs to Schooley's Mountain Road guard rails that were damaged and or undermined by last month's flooding.

You can easily see that guard rails between "Big Turn" and Camp Washington Road appear to be hanging in mid air in several places. Getting the repairs completed as soon as practical is essential for an area where cars and trucks all too frequently "brush" or swerve into the guard rails.

State Public bidding laws make the process longer than the "as soon as possible" most of us, including the Mayor and Committee, would like to see. Until the bids are received, reviewed by County Attorney, County Engineer review of plans, etc. a firm work schedule cannot be established. It will be interesting to see how long the work will take once the approval to start is received. The only sure thing is that once work begins, the dreaded drive over the mountain will be a little more difficult for a while. I am sure Chief Bailey, his officers and the County will do their best to minimize the traffic disruption, but their options are limited. 

The Mayor and Committee are also working on ordinance changes, new weight limit signage and improved methods of truck weight limit enforcement on Schooley's Mountain Road in cooperation with the State and Morris County.

Checking on the Town website, Patch, reading the Observer Tribune and attending Township Committee meetings would be a good way to stay up to date on what is happening with construction and regulations. Hope to see more residents at the meetings.