Township Reviews Sidewalk And Sewer Repair Projects

Matthew Hersh

Princeton Township Committee approved approximately $370,000 for work on sanitary sewer laterals on various private properties.

Construction work will largely affect residences on Harris Road, but will also impact areas along Oakland Street, Loomis Court, Walnut Lane, and Harris, Cuyler, and Hillside roads.

Robert Hough, of the Township/Borough joint Sewer Operating Committee, said the unanimously-approved work is part of a larger Township road improvement project. The SOC program aims to manage and reduce ground and storm water into the sewer system.

Specifically, the program targets infiltration and inflow of water that increases the flow to the Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority treatment plant. The Township incurs larger costs as the plant treats higher volumes of water.

Last year, the Princeton Township Department of Public Works had proposed to perform an overlay paving project on Harris and Hillside roads, Loomis Court, and Oakland Street. Mr. Hough said that after review of the condition of the sanitary sewer of the four streets, the department delayed paving due to main repairs and placements that needed to occur.

Fifty-five properties will be affected on Harris Road, which runs through both Princeton Township and Borough.

Mr. Hough added that after the sewer problems are corrected, Public Works will be able to reinstate its paving plans, which will most likely occur in late summer or early fall.

The Committee also introduced a $308,000 bond ordinance to extend water main and sanitary sewers along Arreton Road, affecting seven residences.

The impetus for the ordinance, according to Township Engineer Robert Kiser, came to the Township Engineering department from the neighbors who live in the Princeton Ridge development between Route 206 and its cul-de-sac.

The plan provides for extending the sanitary sewer 1,140 feet to pick up five homes by gravity flow. Two additional homes require force mains that span 275 feet. Mr. Kiser cited a memorandum to the Township Committee that delineated the approximate cost of the project on a per-household basis. He said the cost for each of the five homes operating on the gravity-fed mains will be around $36,000. The remaining two homes that will need to install their own pump stations installed and will each absorb the approximate $10,000 cost of such stations. Subsequently, costs incurred to the Township for these two residences will be around $26,000 because it will not have to fund the installation of the new stations.

However. Mr. Kiser said the Township's estimate could be higher than what the actual cost will be once construction is executed.

The water main extension on Arreton Road is planned to span approximately 940 feet. Residences in the area, some of which are not hooked up to public water systems, will now be provided with a water main in front of all seven residences and subsequent connections to public water systems.

Moreover, two fire hydrants will be installed on the roadway incurring no additional cost to the Township. Mr. Kiser said Elizabethtown Water will install the hydrants on the condition that the Township install the water mains. By doing so, the Township will not feel the weight of the labor taxes induced if Elizabethtown had its own contractor install the water mains.

The estimated cost for the water main extensions is just under $11,000 per household, Mr. Kiser said.

In other business, the Committee voted unanimously to introduce a bond ordinance that would raise $15,000 to install a sidewalk in front of four properties on the western side of Walnut Lane, between Valley and Terhune roads. The route is a common walkway for middle and high school students. The ordinance will also go to provide funding for sidewalk improvements in the area.

Public hearings for both bond ordinances are scheduled for Monday, March 8.