County Agrees to Pick Up Traffic Control Costs During Trestle Painting

After initially asking the township of Cedar Grove to when the old railroad trestle above Pompton Avenue is painted,  Essex County has now agreed to pay the tab.

"I want to thank the county executive (Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr.)," Township Manager Thomas Tucci said in a phone interview on Tuesday. 

At the April 16 town Council meeting, Essex County Department of Parks Director Dan Salvante, who is also serving as the county liaison for this project, told the Council the county would like the town to pay for police to monitor traffic from 9 a.m to 3 p.m during the estimated 3 to 4-week project.

At the meeting, Tucci estimated police overtime costs at $10,000 to $15,000, which Mayor John Zunic said the town could not afford.

The bike path, officially known as West Essex Trail, runs primarily through Cedar Grove but is owned by the county, Tucci explained.

"It was the old railroad bed," Tucci said, adding the railroad was abandoned during the 1980's and taken over by the county as part of the state Department of Environmental Protection Rails for Trails program.

The trestle to be painted runs over Pompton Avenue before the entrance to the . "The old railroad trestle is aesthetically not pleasing," Tucci commented. 

The painting project was awarded to Allied Painting at the March 5 council meeting and should begin in the next few weeks.

Other recent bike path improvements include repairing the steps and hand rail leading up to the trestle. A trestle fence was also donated by the Cedar Grove Rotary in April 2011.

Tucci said the bike path is used by many residents for walking their dogs, bicycling and hiking.

To learn more about the West Essex Trail, click here.