Residents of both Shamong and Tabernacle should prepare for delays, traffic and construction in the areas around Tuckerton Road, as both township committees authorized the solicitation of bids for the project to begin.
The townships entered into a shared service agreement in 2013 to have a single engineer, Dante Guzzi Engineering Associates LLC, prepare the specifications of the project as well as grant applications in an effort to offset the cost of the project. Shamong Township received a NJDOT grant in the amount of $196,000 for the repaving project. Tabernacle Township received $195,000.
Tabernacle Township administrator Doug Cramer said initial estimates for the project including administration, inspection and engineering fees came in at $582,400. The two townships will be bidding the project into sections. Depending on the bids submitted, Cramer said the townships may use funds from this year’s road program.
“We’ll see how far the grant money gets us and if we can do the entire road,” Cramer said. “We’ll look into using funds from the road program and contribute whatever portion we feel is sufficient to get the project done.”
Tuckerton Road stretches from Evesham Township into the heart of Wharton State Forest. The section of road due for repaving as part of this project is on the eastside of Route 206 between Old Indian Mills Road and Forked Neck Road. How much of the project is completed depends entirely on what the bids come in at. Other areas of the township will also see improvements from grant money in 2014. According to township administrator Sue Onorato, Shamong received a $126,000 municipal parks grant from Burlington County in 2013 that will be used for improvements at the Dingletown complex and Stony Creek park.
“We’ll continue to improve those parks and fields to make them safer, more accessible,” Onorato said. “It will include repaving and painting projects.”
The township committee already unanimously authorized the application of the 2014 Burlington County Recreation and Park grant. Communities in Burlington County can receive up to $250,000 for projects ranging from park improvements to tree planting.
In other news:
Valenzano Winery was granted approval for its annual Independence Day fireworks festival. This year’s event will be held on Thursday, July 3 from 5–10 p.m. and feature a low-altitude fireworks show at sunset. For more information, visit www.valenzanowine.com.
