Summer is around the corner, and along with it comes another major road project in West Windsor. Reminiscent of the Alexander Road bridge project last summer and fall, this summer will see detours associated with the commencement of the long-awaited reconstruction of Meadow Road.##M:[more]##
By West Windsor officials’ estimate, Meadow Road will be closed in three phases beginning in about two to three weeks — an exact date has yet to be determined — and the township’s residents and commuters will again be asked to detour their routes throughout the summer months — and beyond.
According to officials, the $6.545 million contract approved last month with Star of the Sea Concrete of Old Bridge for the first phase of the project gives the contractor a time limit of 285 days. That would mean that the project is estimated to be completed sometime in February, says Township Engineer Francis Guzik. But “with weather delays, it will probably be completed in the spring,” he said.
The first phase of the Meadow Road project entails realigning the 90-degree curve so that Meadow Road from Bear Brook will go directly to the bridge and to Route 1 and Carnegie Center in a straight line. It also includes putting in sewers along the road. The project also includes the design of the north branch of the Duck Pond Run sewer interceptor to the Duck Pond Run Pump Station.
Guzik said there are no immediate plans for the second phase of the project, which includes improvements from Bear Brook Road to the Clarksville Road intersection, where a traffic light will be installed. The design of the intersection will also have to be coordinated with the county with regard to future improvements of Clarksville Road.
Community Development Coordinator Pat Ward said that West Windsor officials sat down with the contractor for a pre-construction meeting on June 4, and residents should start seeing advanced road closure signs pop up on Meadow Road shortly.
The project will create a three-phase detour, said Guzik. The first phase will close Meadow Road from Bear Brook Road to Route 1. Phase two will close Bear Brook Road down to Clarksville Road, and the third phase is a repeat of the first detour, he added.
The road will not be passable, although at some point, drivers will still be able to get through the Bear Brook Road intersection with Route 1. “It’s not going to be any type of phase where it’s going to be open during the day and closed at night,” Guzik said. “It’s just going to be closed 24 hours.”
Detour routes will include taking roads like Clarksville, North Post, and Alexander, Guzik said, although a map of the detours has not yet been completed. As soon as it is, it will be available on the township’s website in PDF format for residents to download, Ward said.
Ward said that upon completion, the project should have a large benefit for circulation, which often slows on the road, especially during rush hour.
She said the road would definitely serve as an alternative route to Route 1. “People, I think, avoid it now because it is narrow and winding.”
Ward also said that emergency services personnel have been participating in all of the discussions about the project so that police, fire, and emergency vehicles will be able to respond to calls. Guzik also said that emergency vehicles will be allowed to pass on the roadway during construction, although in some cases, because of the nature of construction, the road might be impassable. “There may be certain days where it is just not possible,” he said. In that case, the contractor will provide notice to emergency services officials a few days in advance so that responders will know to stick to the detour on those days.
Most of the sewer work will be done using conventional methods. Guzik said most of the project will feature large interceptor systems with 24-inch sewer pipes, as officials hope to “get rid of the Duck Pond Road Sewer Station and get most of the waste waster flows that go to the pump station to go into the Delaware River Canal’s interceptor by gravity, instead of having to be pumped.”
The line is currently running under a low-flow condition because gas is building up, Guzik said. “Some of the newer developments like West Windsor Gardens will be provided service by this expansion,” Guzik added.
One part of the project in a relatively deep section of sewering, however, will require the use of microtunneling, in which a machine is sent down a shaft about 30 to 35 feet deep to pull pipe to run a sewer line. There will be some cuts in the road for this, but the entire road will not have to be ripped up, he said.
“In order to go down 30 to 35 feet, you can’t just have a trench — you have to have a crater,” Ward explains.
Officials decided to go with microtunneling to prevent disruption to services of the Princeton Presbyterian Church and to limit the impact to residents near the project.
On June 8, the council approved a $367,”636 professional services agreement with T&M Associates for engineering services associated with the project.
In other business the council also passed two resolutions to enter into collective bargaining agreements with both the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (ASFCME) Supervisory Employees Local 3242 — each for a two-year contract period from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010.
