By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Motorists driving through Sea Isle City may have to use their navigation systems for the next few months to find their way around town. They will definitely have to use their patience.
Now that the quiet off-season months have arrived and the streets are less congested with traffic, the city’s contractors are out in force to rebuild the roads and install new water and sewer systems.
“Road Closed” and “Detour” signs have begun popping up across town, including stretches of Landis Avenue and Central Avenue, the city’s primary traffic arteries.
For the latest project, City Council awarded a $505,439 contract Tuesday for the reconstruction of Central Avenue from John F. Kennedy Boulevard to 36th Street and 40th Street from Landis Avenue to Central. A portion of the project is being funded by a state grant.
As is Sea Isle’s custom, the city holds off building major road projects during the busy summer tourism season to avoid traffic disruptions. Year-round residents, however, have to navigate through the tangle of road construction during the off-season months.
“They’re all over. We’re going to start many of our road projects at this time of year,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said.
In an interview after the Council meeting, Desiderio expressed his thanks to motorists for their “patience and understanding” and urged them to obey all detour signs.
The multimillion-dollar construction program is part of Sea Isle’s strategy to rebuild roads, replace aging infrastructure and help protect low-lying neighborhoods from chronic flooding.
Among the road projects that have already begun, police were detouring traffic Tuesday off a stretch of Landis Avenue at 48th Street.
Police also issued a traffic alert to warn motorists of detours on Central Avenue between 42nd Street and 40th Street, including JFK Boulevard. Road closures on this section of Central are expected to last for the next three days while utility infrastructure upgrades are completed, according to police.
As one of the city’s main thoroughfares, Central has been the focus of a series of projects in recent years that are designed to replace old water and sewer systems and help alleviate flooding in surrounding neighborhoods.
In the fall of 2021, the city repaved a stretch of Central Avenue from 69th Street to 84th Street under a nearly $500,000 contract.
Last March, the city awarded a $773,800 contract for Central’s reconstruction from 56th Street to 69th Street.
The next major phase of Central’s reconstruction, between JFK Boulevard and 36th Street, will extend the project toward the north end of town through some of the flood-prone neighborhoods. The project is expected to begin next spring.
Following is the city’s schedule for upcoming projects:
Fall 2023:
- Sanitary sewer replacement on 40th Street from Landis to Central avenues.
- Water distribution system replacement on Central from 40th to West Jersey Avenue.
- Repaving of Central from 56th to 69th streets.
- Repaving of 46th Place.
- Sanitary sewer replacement on Cini Avenue from 36th to 38th streets.
Spring 2024:
- Repaving of Central from John F. Kennedy Boulevard to 36th Street.
- Repaving of 40th Street between Landis and Central avenues.
- Repaving of 59th Street from Sounds Avenue to Central.
Fall 2024:
- Repaving of Cini Avenue from JFK Boulevard to 36th Street.
