By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Motorists probably should start preparing themselves for “Road Closed” and “Detour Ahead” signs as they drive around parts of Sea Isle City in the fall.
The city is getting ready to launch a series of road reconstruction, paving and utility projects that will begin after the busy summer tourism season ends and the quiet off-season months take hold.
“In accordance with our typical practice, during the summer season we try to limit the amount of construction taking place on public property in order to minimize the disruption to our residents and visitors, as for many this time of the year is precious,” the city said in a statement.
The statement noted that the city is also in the process of putting plans into place for the next round of capital improvements throughout town. As these projects move forward through the design, bidding and construction phases, the city will provide the public with updates on their progress.
To get things started, City Council awarded a $365,000 contract Tuesday to South State Inc. of Williamstown, N.J., for construction work on Park Road between John F. Kennedy Boulevard and 48th Street.
A preconstruction meeting will take place on Sept. 8 in preparation for work getting underway in the fall, the city said.
Park Road is the main corridor serving the Fish Alley neighborhood, an enclave of family-owned restaurants and fishing boats rooted in Sea Isle’s early history as a small commercial seaport.
The same stretch of Park Road also includes the former Sea Isle public school building, which the city plans to demolish to make way for development of a proposed $20 million community recreation center.
The community center project is still in the design phase, so no announcement has been made yet about the construction timetable.
Meanwhile, motorists will also encounter road projects in other parts of town this fall.
Beginning in September, the city plans to pave a stretch of Central Avenue from 69th Street to 84th Street. A nearly $500,000 contract for the project has been awarded to Arawak Paving Co. of Hammonton, N.J.
This part of Central Avenue largely cuts through residential neighborhoods, including bayfront homes.
Also in September, the city plans to begin utility work on Sounds Avenue from 56th Street to 59th Street in a residential neighborhood of bayfront homes.
The contractor, Garden State General Construction, Inc., of Clermont, N.J., estimates that the $211,000 project on Sounds Avenue will take four to six weeks to complete, the city said.
This winter, Sea Isle will also focus its attention on the navigable bay water – in addition to the local roads. The city expects to complete final work on a nearly $1 million dredging project to clear out sediment in lagoons and channels that are popular with boaters.
Earlier in the year, the city’s contractor, SumCo Eco-Contracting, of Peabody, Mass., dredged the channel along Venicean Road and in front of the Yacht Club of Sea Isle City. The project also includes the waterway in front of 38th Street and other areas.
Dredging work for the lagoon serving Sea Isle’s municipal marina on 42nd Place is scheduled to be done in the winter.
