Advisory: Water Main Break at Grand b/w Sewall & Monroe
Emergency repair as stay remains on state-funded road projects
The Asbury Park Police Department has issued a public advisory warning travelers to steer clear of Grand Avenue between Sewall and Monroe avenues.
A water main break will make getting through the area difficult and officials ask motorists to avoid the area. The estimated time of repair according to the 8:30 a.m. advisory is 4 p.m.
The block is the home of waterfront redeveloper iStar’s South Grand townhome development.
In related news, Mayor John Moor said city road projects remain on hold due to Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s stay on construction until a Transportation Trust Fund agreement can be reached.
Christie has rejected the latest funding bid by Democratic legislators, saying Monday that their offer was ‘dead on arrival.’
News reports estimate the Transportation Trust Fund will exhaust what is in its coffers by early August.
Moor said Monday, “We are in a holding pattern. We’ve accepted bids for the road projects but can’t give them out.”
If the stay lasts beyond the prescribed time between accepting the bids and issuing them, the process may need to start a new, Moor said.
“If this doesn’t get solved quickly we may need to go out to bid all over again,” he said.
This year, City Manager Michael Capabianco began a 5-year road repair schedule to address the pot holes and worn asphalt along city streets. It has been years since road repair projects were conducted, officials have said.
State funding [over $900,00] will help pay for a portion of the road refurbishments along Fourth Avenue, Main Street, Steiner Place, Park Avenue, Washington Avenue and Cookman Avenue, Moor said.
Going back out to bid could open the risk of higher project estimates since the majority of municipalities across the state who remain in limbo until a new Transportation Trust Fund plan is agreed upon face the same scenerio.
Christie had struck a deal to raise the gas tax by 23 cents a gallon in exchange for cutting the 7 percent sales tax to 6 percent.
The Democrats on Friday proposed eliminating the estate tax, thereby allowing more retirement income to be free of state income taxes. Their plan also called for an increase to the Earned Income Tax for the working poor and provided tax breaks for veterans and commuters.
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