Business Leaders Discuss Downtown Bridge Project

Business owners were told Tuesday night to work together and provide feedback to make the best of the bridge construction on Millburn Avenue.

The Downtown Millburn Development Alliance hosted a meeting for downtown business owners to receive information and provide feedback on the Essex County project to demolish and replace the bridge over the West Branch of the Rahway River. The bridge is just east of Main Street.

Workers started mobilizing for the project on Monday by setting up the lane restrictions and barriers. The mobilization is expected to finish by the end of the week with actual construction to follow. It's expected the project to last six to eight months. The first phase will tackle the right side of the bridge.

Two lanes of traffic are to be open on Millburn Avenue through the construction zone at all times. Parking through the area has been removed, and there is a no left turn from Millburn Avenue onto Main Street during the first phase.

Daniel Baer, a Township Committee member who has been working as a liaison on the project, said they are looking for recommendations from the business owners to make life better. Township and business leaders will be speaking to the contractor regularly.

John Buchholz, DMDA president, said there's a process to bring those ideas to improve the quality of life, but the contractor is listening. They've already had some changes made including limiting the parking removed and moving the fencing slightly to provide for better pedestrian access to businesses in the construction area.

A tarp will be placed over the construction so people won't stop to gawk as they drive through the construction zone. Signs for the businesses hidden by the tarp could be attached to it.

The Millburn Deli already has taken the initiative to attach a sign to a traffic barrel to signal it is open and the adjacent lot is open. Buchholz said there may be a need for a bigger, more permanent sign about the parking and businesses being open.

Business leaders also are working with police, who will have an officer stationed at the construction zone. Buchholz said they will be directing traffic so drivers know there is no left turn, but there might be a need for a larger sign too.

They also have asked police to install a temporary cross walk in the area of the deli. Right now the sidewalk is closed between Main Street and the deli, so people would need to walk on the other side of the street to Lackawanna to cross at the light. But several people said it's more likely people will cross in the middle of the block.

Deborah Gilbert Smith, who owns a store by the same name, said there needs to be a sign warning people of pedestrians crossing the street at the very least. The preference would be for the crosswalk, but a sign would be a good warning to motorists.

They're also working with police on "meter feeding." Baer said the business owners need to be each other's best friends to get their employees from parking on the street or in the lot adjacent to the deli.

"We know you want to have the parking for your customers," he said. "If your employees take the spaces, we can't get them there... You need to encourage each other to have your employees not do that."

Buchholz said the alternative to the phased construction was to shut down the bridge completely, which is how county projects normally are done. The project would be done a month earlier, but it would make life difficult for downtown businesses.

Mayor Thomas McDermott said another concern is how people are using Old Short Hills Road a cut through to avoid Route 78 construction. It adds to the problems downtown since Old Short Hills Road is the main access to downtown from Short Hills.

Business owners also discussed the possibility of staying open later two times per week as a promotion because it's when it would be easier to find parking and access the areas. Also, there could be promotions on weekends because there would be no construction during that time.