Mt. Laurel Township Council has passed this year’s list of road improvements and capital purchases.
The township’s 2019 road program will require the township to bond for $5.4 million, while the capital projects, costing about $2.5 million, will use funds in capital surplus gained from the township’s recent refinancing of previous notes.
Roads to be repaired from this year’s roads program and capital purchases are unchanged from those first announced at council’s last meeting in April.
The roads included in this year’s program are as follows: Union Mill Road (from Laurel Acres Park to Academy Drive), Atrium Way, Horizon Way, West Park Drive, Briarwood Road, Birchfield Drive, Braddock Terrance, Willow Way, Boothby Drive, Ark Road (from Route 38 to Union Mill Road), Ark Road (from Union Mill Road to Hainesport-Mt. Laurel Road) Kirkwood Drive, Kirkwood Court, Mountainview Road, Berkeley place, Ramblewood Lane, Cemetery Road (Church Road to Stanwyck Road) Cemetery Road (Maple Glenn Road to Cranbury Hill Court), Cornwallis Drive, Edinburgh Lane, Edinburgh Court, Chatham Road, Chickory Drive, Fleetwood Avenue, Hooton Road, Briggs Road and Colony Place.
In regard to the approved capital projects, the projects will affect a number of departments and services across the township, including the Mt. Laurel EMS, Mt. Laurel Public Works Department, Mt. Laurel Police Department, Mt. Laurel Court Office, Mt. Laurel Municipal Building, Mt. Laurel Community Center and more.
A detailed list of projects by area are as follow:
- Public Works Department: $667,000 to purchase brush trucks, a five-yard dump truck with plow and sander, a generator for the DPW building and the replacement of bay doors at the DPW building. According to officials, the generator will allow the township to better respond to emergencies wherein the DPW would otherwise be without power to run its heavier machinery.
- Emergency Medical Services: $320,000 to remount two ambulance bodies onto new cabs and frames and the acquisition of two new automated stretchers. According to EMS officials, the remounting is a more cost-effective measure than the outright purchase of new ambulances.
- Buildings and grounds: $956,000 to renovate a courtroom, the purchase of office cubicles for the police department, acquisition of filing and storage capacity for the police department, replacement of carpet at the community center and construction office and miscellaneous minor improvements to buildings as needed. According to officials, the court and police upgrades are related to the need for more storage capacity due to state laws mandating a longer retention period for files and evidence.
- Information technology: $80,000 to purchase equipment such as servers, computers, wiring, licensing, security fobs and cameras.
- Additional road repairs: $563,000 to address smaller-scale repairs and reconstruction of various township roads, including drainage and curb improvements.
