Bridgewater Township to Begin Full Assessment of Township Roadways
Bridgewater, NJ – At the Bridgewater Township Council Meeting on Monday, June 15
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, the Council passed a Resolution awarding a contract to the engineering firm, Pennoni and Associates, to conduct a universal road assessment of all Bridgewater Township roads.
Roads will be assessed with “Roadbotics” technology which will take a complete picture of roadways every 10 feet and analyze the condition of each road. Each road will be then given a rating of condition from 1 through 5 (1 being the best and 5 the worst). The Township, in concert with the vendor, would then compile the data based on the rating and other objective data including proximity to a school and usage, among other criteria.
When the road assessment is complete, the Administration will make the findings available to the public. This would be the first time that Bridgewater Township would be conducting a road assessment of this kind and scope. The goal is two-fold. First, giving the Administration a clear vision of future road priorities and secondly, creating clear rationale and transparency for the public of how road projects are selected to move forward.
“In all my twelve years on Council and now, as Mayor, there is one issue that I hear about everyday from our residents; the conditions of our roadways,” said Mayor Matthew Moench. “When I took office, I outlined a plan to take a different, decisive approach to tackling this challenge. It starts with this universal road assessment, being done by independent professional engineers taking into account both objective criteria and input from the residents who drive these roads every day. We expect to have a clear and concise document to share with the public this fall. While we await this road assessment plan, the Township continues to try to move much needed new road projects while pushing forward old projects that were funded in previous budget years but have languished. The condition of our roads should reflect the quality of our community and I will be tireless in my effort to lay an aggressive yet sustainable path forward on this issue.”
“It is important that our residents have a clear picture of the status of their road and all of the roads in the Township,” said Councilman Allen Kurdyla. “I believe that this study will provide the foundation to create a coherent plan for the selection of Township road projects. I am pleased to support this initiative to create the long term plan that will benefit all.”
“In the past, I have heard many of our residents describe the selection of Township road projects as the “road lottery,”” said Councilman Timothy Ring. “The taxpayers of this community deserve to know that there is a clear and objective process for choosing these projects. This assessment is the first step in that path to transparency.”
The Township Council approved the Resolution 5-0. Work on the road assessment is set to begin this summer with a 60-90 day time table for completion of the initial assessment. The full public report is expected to be released this fall. This project will be inclusive of only municipally owned roadways. County, State and privately owned roads will not be included.
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