FROM THE NEW JERSEY HERALD (Quincy Newspapers, Inc.)
July 13, 2006
By TOM HOWELL JR.
Herald Staff Writer
SPARTA -- The township began streetscape improvements Wednesday on Sparta Avenue, marking "phase two" of its ongoing town center improvement plan.
Work on Sparta Avenue is expected to last until October and cost about $900,000, Town Manager Henry Underhill said. Nordic Construction Co. crews will replace the curb and install lampposts and paving stones on sidewalks, making the street more passable to pedestrians. Construction will span from the Pooles Corner jughandle to the intersection of routes 517 and 181.
"Main Street, from Glen Road all the way to the post office, was done a year or so ago, so we're basically picking up at the post office," Underhill said.
Mayor Ailish Hambel said the improvements will be similar to those done on Main Street, but with fewer disruptions.
"We are aiming to be done before the holidays when it will become busier in that area," Hambel said.
Municipal engineer Charles Ryan and Harold E. Pellow & Associates Inc. have worked on the design.
Weather permitting, work will be done five days a week and shut down one lane of traffic most days, Underhill said. Vehicles were delayed on Sparta Avenue on Wednesday and police directed traffic.
"The road won't be closed, but if you can avoid it, it wouldn't be a bad idea," Underhill said.
At least one lane of traffic will be open at all times, but drivers can also divert onto Route 517, Hambel said.
Construction crews will work on a few hundred feet of road each day to minimize the disturbance of local businesses, Underhill said. Traffic will not be disrupted every day, because changes are on the sidewalk areas and not the carpath. Owners will be notified before work is done in front of their businesses, Underhill said.
Sparta was hoping to start work last year, but delayed the project due to a delay in state and federal aid. The state is providing $350,000 while the rest is local, Underhill said.
"We are enhancing and upgrading the area for the look and feel of Sparta," Hambel said.
Hambel said she believes the resulting improvements will outweigh the current inconvenience.
The current "phase two" is part of a larger outline for the town center. Sparta hopes to make similar improvements on stretches of Woodport Road and streets leading down to Mohawk Village.
"We're trying to increase pedestrian flow and make it look more like a downtown than a strip," he said.
(Herald Staff Writer Jessica Seda contributed to this story.)