A sewer line break on Wallace Road has resulted in traffic closures and rush hour tie ups with only one lane open from Alexander Road to Princeton-Hightstown Road adjacent to the train station and its parking lots.
Just before the Council met on Monday, December 12, Business Administrator Robert Hary said there was a road collapse and a sewer line break on part of the line between Alexander Road and the train station entrance. The sewer line lies 17 feet below the street and caused a small spill upstream on North Post Road. Hary said crews will continue to examine the situation underground to determine its severity.
“Right now we are able to bypass the area that was damaged but we’re going to find out the impact on the line further down the road, past the train station where emergency crews are working. The next step is determining where the breaks are and clean out all the sewage. We are going to have a lot of debris in there, which could impact the sewer lines, and we’ve got to clean that out. After we find out what the damage is, then we’ve got to get emergency crews to do the repairs,” Hary said.
He reiterated the synopsis at the Council meeting and asked Council and public to contact township engineer Fran Guzik, who was in attendance Monday night, for further information.
The break on Wallace Road comes just weeks after a resolution was brought to Council for repairs along that line. Councilmember Diane Ciccone, following up on her November 28 inquiry about the proposed $8,600 professional services contract with Van Cleef Engineering (WW-P News, December 2) asked Hary whether the current situation was related to another sewer break on Wallace Road a few years ago.
“Are we looking at re-doing the whole line? How much would it cost and how long would it take?” she asked Hary and Guzik.
Guzik answered that the proposed contract was for construction along the lines due to aging and noticeable wear and tear. The line along Wallace Road dates back to 1977. Guzik said the line’s collapse would leave no option except opening the road up to do construction and three other sewer lines would be impacted. “It is our intention, in addition to doing the spot repair there, to go ahead with project work on the line thereafter. Hopefully we avoid any other collapses by doing so,” Guzik said.
In other council news, resolutions were introduced for the following:
— A refund of $80 for a temporary license to operate a retail food establishment to Shylender Kothakonda.
— A refund of $40 to Rite Aid for the overpayment of their retail food establishment license.
Recommendations from the administration included:
— Authorizing the mayor and township clerk to execute a land development performance guarantee agreement with Princeton University for the storage space project on Washington Road;
— Authorizing the purchase of a 2012 single-axle dump truck for the department of Public Works for $117,291. Hary said that this would be part of a regular rotation of such vehicles and it would replace a 1987 model truck with considerable wear and tear.
— A person-to-person transfer of a liquor license for Hyatt Place, from BRE/Amerisuites Properties LLC to Noble I/HY Princeton Op Co. LLC. Councilman Charles Morgan asked that the resolution be temporarily pulled as he questioned Deputy Clerk Gay Huber, filling in for Township Clerk Sharon Young about the conditions of the originally-issued liquor license for a hotel with more than 100 rooms, and if there have been any reported violations of the law.
Huber confirmed that there have not been any reported incidents and that the license would still restrict liquor use to hotel guests and their friends (set in place to discourage a regular bar being established at the location). The resolution was then accepted for the agenda on December 19.
During public commentary two residents requested the reinstatement of Animal Control Officer Bettina Roed, whose position was eliminated earlier this year. Kim White of 54 Montgomery Street works with a local animal rescue group that does pet adoptions every Saturday at Cornucopia. “I really can’t understand how we will pass a resolution to purchase a new dump truck for $117,000 when, as I understand it, Bettina’s salary was $42,000. Another thing is that we no longer know what happens to stray animals in West Windsor,” she said.
Nancy Bennett of Fieldstone Road added that “West Windsor has a problem with wild animals at times. Before you could call Bettina, and you knew that right away she would be out there setting traps and working hard to keep our town safe,” Bennett said. However, their appeals received no response from members of Council.
