At last week’s Shamong Township Committee meeting, the residents of Concord Ridge presented a petition to the committee to approve the immediate repaving of Concord Drive in their development.
It is a paving job that is about 30 years old with an original estimated life existence of 20 years according to industry standards.
This road has raised many concerns from residents over the years, many dealing with the significant detraction from the appearance of Concord Ridge and many dealing with potential safety hazards.
The petition referenced the possibility of a sinkhole due to the inlet grate sinking below the paving level as shown in photos provided at the meeting.
Parents are worried about the safety of their children walking to the bus stop each day and have voiced their concerns about a unique situation involving a woman who needs an electric wheelchair and a service dog to get around.
“She can hardly make it around the street because of the condition of this road,” Shamong resident Linda Orecchio said. “These are major safety issues for handicap people.”
The petition states it has been more than 25 years since the roads in Concord Ridge have been paved, and the condition of Concord Drive particularly has deteriorated considerably as already acknowledged by the township on several occasions.
It goes on to also state that since 1989, the residents of Concord Ridge have paid more than $15 million in real estate taxes, so the neighborhood is respectfully requesting the township committee to approve this capital improvement.
The petition contained more than 40 signatures of Concord Ridge residents and comprehensive research of the township’s road program detailing why Concord Ridge should be at the top of the priority list. This road program is planned to spend $1 million on 2.18 miles of roadway.
“The 2.18 miles is an estimate based on paving costs and knowing that there will likely be drainage repairs as well,” township administrator Sue Onorato said.
Onorato described the committee’s situation as “wrestling a 12-armed octopus” because there are so many developments in the town that are between 25 and 35 years old.
The committee also made it a point to state that it is assessing every means possible to try to create revenue for township projects such as this without raising residents’ taxes, though Onorato described the grant money situation in the state as highly competitive and shrinking every year.
“The majority of these grants go to main roads. Roads within developments hardly ever qualify for grant money,” she said.
To buy 10–15 years on the younger roads, the township is conducting a micro surfacing project in an attempt to stop the bleeding in the future and give it an opportunity to then address these older roads that need the most aid.
A subcommittee was formed to travel and review every road in the township to make a list that would enable the money it has budgeted for the program to go as far as it can go as Onorato put it.
Shamong resident Richard Orecchio said Concord Drive is a very heavily traveled road, as it is a popular cut through from Route 206 to Tuckerton Road.
“Unlike many other roads, it is oftentimes ridden on by large trucks, RVs and boats, causing significantly more damage to the pavement,” Richard said.
Mayor Kenneth Long and his fellow committee members embraced the petition and were thankful for all of the data and legwork this group of people did.
While he alluded to past committees being wrong for not addressing this problem, he didn’t confirm this committee would. However, he did acknowledge that no other neighborhoods have created a petition and stated this would be taken into consideration when making their decisions moving forward.
“Nothing is set in stone until the final list of roads for the road program is put together,” Long said. “It’s not a guarantee, but we’re not telling you no tonight.”
However, the timing of the presentation of this petition to the committee was very opportune considering it is beginning to get final numbers in and putting the finishing touches on the list.
“This is a priority road for sure, it just comes down to dollars and cents,” Long said.
The problem is the road is in such bad condition it will likely take a large amount of the township’s $1 million budget to completely fix properly in a fashion that will preserve it for years to come.
“It’s a balancing act that we are trying to figure out here. We have a fixed amount of money for repairs and more roads that need to be fixed. So we are trying to figure out how we can address as much roadway as we can throughout the township while making sure that all the money isn’t spent on one street, because it’s not just one neighborhood that is experiencing this problem,” township engineer Dante Guzzi said.
Long-time resident Joseph Dutka obtained a quote from what he described as a reputable asphalt company that estimated the work would cost about $70,000.
However, this was a quote to mill the road two inches deep and, according to Guzzi, this road needs much more than two inches of work, so this would only buy them a handful of years before they are back in this same scenario.
“You wouldn’t be getting the job that needs to be done with this quote,” Long said. “We’re not interested in putting a road together for five or 10 years. When we do your road, it’s going to last 25 to 30 years again. It’s got to get done right.”
Long concluded the meeting by stating the complete list is constantly being updated and revised, and the cost estimates to repair those roads will be made available to the public by the end of December.
