Atlantic Avenue Margate
When second homeowners leave their summer homes, Downbeach gets serious about the future. As summer visitors head west on the Atlantic City Expressway or north on the Garden State Parkway, the big yellow trucks start rolling in.
Starting the week after Labor Day, the heavy equipment needed to rebuild roads, replace sewer and water lines and replace curbs and sidewalks take up residence in the parking spaces that are so hard to find during July and August.
A recent drive around the Downbeach area revealed public works projects taking place in all three Downbeach communities. During public meetings, city officials and engineers often detail progress of ongoing or planned capital projects, which get underway in fall in hopes they will be completed before the out-of-towners return in spring.
Although there are plenty of available parking spaces in Downbeach during the off-season, motorists have to contend with other traffic issues, such as numerous detours, and of course, nuisance flooding.
VENTNOR
Things don’t always go so smoothly as planned, however. The ongoing streetscape project in the North Beach commercial area along Atlantic Avenue in Ventnor became a multi-year endeavor. This is the second year local business owners will have to endure major construction in front of their stores during the off-season.
After a hiatus for the summer, work has re-commenced on a state-funded streetscape project that will upgrade curbs and sidewalks, install brick pavers and bump outs at corners along a three-block stretch of Atlantic Avenue. Some of the work was done in spring, but problems beneath the sidewalks delayed the project’s completion. Rather than have business owners and visitors deal with construction during the “100 days of summer,” Ventnor officials asked the contractor to return in fall.
Ventnor recently started a road construction project on N. Newport Avenue between Sunset and Monmouth avenues and has numerous other projects planned over the fall, winter and spring. In addition to installing fire hydrants at various locations over the next two years, the city will be upgrading aging water and sewer lines during most road reconstruction projects.
Ventnor will be going out to bid on a drainage project on Winchester Avenue that will impact intersections at Washington and New Haven avenues. Another project is planned at Marshall and Oxford avenues, and Doran Engineering was recently awarded a contract for planning, design and repaving of Dorset Avenue from Welllington to Burk Avenue. The municipal parking lot on Newport Avenue will also be redesigned and improved.
Most welcomed will be the installation of restrooms on the Ventnor City Fishing Pier. SOSH Architects did the design work and city engineer Ed Stinson is currently putting together the bid specifications
“It’s a long overdue project that required permitting from the DEP,” Commissioner Lance Landgraf said.
Obtaining permits from the DEP was challenging, but he hopes to get the go-ahead soon, he said.
The city will also be constructing a new Ventnor Beach Patrol Headquarters this year. The city will soon be accepting bids for construction of the building.
MARGATE
Margate has several state-funded projects in the works that started after Labor Day.
The NJ DOT Safe Routes to Schools program awarded the city a $371,000 grant to improve traffic patterns along Amherst Avenue near the city schools. The contract awarded to Feriozzi Concrete Co. of Atlantic City includes upgrading storm drains, installation of curbs, gutters around newly created islands, handicapped ramps and crosswalks at two intersections that will make it safer for students walking to city schools. The project is slated for completion in January 2020.
The city partnered with Atlantic County to repave the Amherst Avenue intersection with Jerome Avenue, a county roadway. The city and county are splitting the cost. Handicapped access ramps are being installed as well.
And a $1.1 million project partially funded with a $222,000 state grant is reconstructing Atlantic Avenue from the city’s border with Ventnor to Clermont Avenue. On Friday, Oct. 11, contractors for Lafayette Utility Construction Company had the roadway opened and were installing a new sewer line.
Other projects are planned in Margate, including reconstruction of Thurlow Avenue and Bayshore Drive West. The city awarded a $733,590 contract to Command Company, Inc. of Egg Harbor City to do the work, and a contractor will be installing scaffolding in preparation of painting the exterior of the Benson Avenue water tank. Allied Painting, Inc. was awarded a $715,320 contract to do the work.
Additionally, the city will accept bids on Oct. 30 to replace a section of publicly owned bulkhead along the Amherst Avenue marina district.
Other projects, including state-funded reconstruction of additional sections of Atlantic Avenue are in the design phase.
LONGPORT
In addition to remediation of mold issues that developed at Longport Borough Hall over a humid weekend in August, the borough is preparing to install a new well and build a well house and administrative building at the Public Works yard. The borough is investigating repairs to the paint job on the smiley faced water towner, and security is being upgraded at Borough Hall.
The borough is currently making drainage improvements and repaving 29th Avenue at Sunset through a state aid grant.
The borough will be replacing fencing at the borough recreational complex on 33rd Avenue, making improvements to the tennis courts, and a water and sewer project along Atlantic Avenue is in the planning stages. A boat lift will also be installed at the rear of Borough Hall to accommodate the Longport Volunteer Fire Department’s rescue boat.
And lastly, the borough is still trying to decide the location of a grant-funded electrical vehicle charging station.
