Ocean City Mayor Gives Updates On Ongoing Projects

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian provided an update on ongoing projects on the island Friday afternoon. Gillian said that while the amount of work currently going on may be frustrating, everyone agrees the work is long overdue. Below is the complete transcript from his weekly update:

Dear Friends,

If you’re a driver like me, you’re probably frustrated by the amount of road work going on right now. But road and drainage improvements are the one thing that everybody in town agrees are long overdue. That’s the nature of spring in Ocean City. Road crews have to wait for the winter weather to thaw, and most projects are off limits for the busy summer season.

The final sections of concrete are curing now on Cape May County’s 34th Street Bridge project, and this phase of work remains on schedule to be complete by May 4. The New Jersey American Water Company is finishing work on Bay Avenue between 28th Street and 33rd Street, but A.E. Stone soon will have to run storm drainage pipes underneath the same stretch of road as part of the neighborhood drainage project there. The new crosswalks on Ninth Street are a great addition to the city’s main gateway, and work on many north end streets between St. Charles Place and Sixth Street is ongoing or about to begin.

At the same time, the boardwalk reconstruction between Eighth Street and 10th Street with the addition of five new pavilions is complete. The new firehouse at 29th Street is nearing completion. Tennis courts at 34th Street and at the Intermediate School are being renovated with new soft surfaces, and the new Pickleball courts at the Intermediate School are under construction. Trucks are hauling material away to clear room at Site 83 for new dredging projects. And the private owner of the former Getty Station at Ninth Street and Bay Avenue is removing underground fuel tanks and testing soil in advance of a potential sale of that property to the city.

These are just some of the many capital improvement projects in the works. As always, I thank you all for your patience during construction and look forward to a better quality of life as this important work gets completed.

It’s Earth Day tomorrow, and that coincides with our semi-annual Beach Sweeps co-sponsored by Clean Ocean Action. Volunteers are encouraged to meet at the Ocean City Music Pier at 9 a.m. April 22 for assignments and supplies. This is the 32nd spring event here in Ocean City, and it’s an important demonstration of our commitment to the marine environment.

Warm regards,

Jay A. Gillian
Mayor

The attached images were included in the weekly address