Highland Park will continue its road improvement work into 2019, as the town looks to smooth over some roadways in need of some macadam-infused TLC.
Borough Administrator Teri Jover announced Tuesday that starting in the spring of 2019, the Borough would conduct improvements on the following throughways:
- North Third Ave., from Raritan Ave. to Montgomery St.
- Meriland Ave., from Raritan Ave. to the Irving Parking Lot (near Woodbridge Ave.)
- South Seventh Ave., from Magnolia St. to Woodbridge Ave.
- Hilton St., from Aurora St. to Labakan Pl.
Ms. Jover also announced the development of software that would assist the Borough in putting together a five-year ranking of road improvement priorities.
North Third Ave. between Raritan Ave. and Montgomery St. is among several roadways slated for improvement starting in the spring of 2019.
This program is the culmination of a survey that began in October, when the Borough conducted a survey of all Borough roads and assigned ratings based on a “pavement condition assessment” that looked at 1) the number and size of cracks, 2) the number and size of potholes, 3) whether there was evidence of crumbling, and 4) the quality and quantity of utility repair patches. Based on these four factors, each road received a rating on a Pavement Condition Index between 0 and 100 (perfect).
The survey data is now being entered into the Borough’s pavement management software, which will help to develop a capital reinvestment program that considers the condition ranking and weighs the costs and merits of different maintenance and rehabilitation treatments. For example, some road preservation treatments can extend the life of a road by more than five years at a fraction of the cost of rehabilitation and reconstruction projects.
With the pavement management system in place, Ms. Jover said, the Borough will have the tools it needs to create a five-year plan for road repairs that takes into consideration road conditions as well as frequency of use, utility repairs (water, sewer, gas) and geography.
The plan is expected to be complete by the spring of 2019.