By CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS
The Asbury Park City Council has authorized the issuance of $4.5 million in bonds or notes to fund the repair and restoration of portions of Monroe Avenue, Comstock Street and Eighth Avenue. The expense will be offset by $917,432 in grants from the state Department of Transportation.
The grants will be allocated thusly: $482,726 for Monroe and Comstock and $434,706 for Eighth Avenue.
The project is part of an ongoing city initiative to upgrade and replace all city streets. Mayor John B. Moor estimated that over the last five years, about 40 percent of the local roads have been upgraded.
This project will include Monroe from Memorial Drive to Prospect Street; Prospect from Comstock Street to Asbury Avenue and Eighth Avenue from Deal Lake Drive to its eastern end at Ocean Avenue.
Total reconstruction can be problematic because the city’s sewer lines originally were buried eight feet deep and are in terra cotta, according to the mayor.
“We will save a lot of money at the sewer plant” said Moor noting that the older sewer lines typically are penetrated by ground water which means the city is paying for the treatment of ground water rather than sewerage at the plant.
The project will replace sewer lines, acquire and install new piping and assorted concrete structures, replace laterals and manholes, perform roadway excavation, milling, paving, reconstruction, resurfacing, sealing of pavement cracks, grading and storm damage repairs, curbs and sidewalk installation where appropriate, replacement of driveway aprons, improvements related to the Americans with Disabilities Act and landscaping and aesthetic improvements to grassy areas.
The city, meanwhile, mills every city street every year, said Moor.
