Council Approves Additional Funding for Downtown Streetscape Project

The township council approved additional cash for the in West Orange.

The change order for $74,455 will be used to adequately install traffic signals, Leonard Lepore, municipal engineer and director of public works for the township, told the council Tuesday.

He said the foundation of nine traffic signals needs to be redesigned due to conflicts in the ground.

According to Lepore, the standard foundation required by the county for the signals does not fit along several parts of Main Street. As an alternative, construction workers will have to burrow deeper and use a concrete casing to install the lights with specialized equipment, he said.

The improvements to the downtown are part of a $2 million grant that was awarded to the township through the Federal Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2005. Officials said the grant will give a much-needed face-lift to the intersections of Eagle Rock Avenue with Harrison Avenue, Main Street and Mississippi Avenue, and Main Street with Northfield Avenue in the St. Mark's area.

but have since come . 
The council previously approved two change orders for a total of $154,000 to expand the $1.5 million project and address an . 

The third change order increases the original contract with Conquest Industries, Inc. by 14 percent and rounds out the project to $1.7 million.

Though Lepore said there is enough grant money to fund the unexpected glitches, the township will have to pay $14,400 of the $74,455 for the additional police work needed, as the grant does not reimburse for police hours.

Construction is expected to be completed by spring.

The change order was passed in a 4-1 vote by the council, with Councilman Joe Krakoviak dissenting.