Township Authorizes $140K More for Road Repairs Following Hurricane Irene

In a unanimous vote early Monday, the Township Committee authorized spending up to $140,000 for emergency road repairs related to damage caused by Hurrican Irene, according to Township Clerk Maureen Doloughty. 

This amount is in addition to $250,000 of post-hurricane emergency repair work authorized by the Township Committee in a Sept. 1 meeting.

Mayor Patrick Impreveduto said Sunday that he feels confident the township will receive reimbursement from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The meeting was held at the unusual time, 7 a.m., to accomodate the work schedules of the five Committee members, and to keep the repair work moving.

About $120,000 of the new money is intended for repairs to a collapsed portion of a cul-de-sac at the end of Timberdale Drive, which is off Crawfords Corner Road. The damage occurred during Hurricane Irene. The roadway, and what lays deep underneath, must be reconstructed. 

According to Doloughty, who took notes during the meeting, it was discovered during an engineer analysis that the 24" drainage pipe is more than 20 feet below the road surface, and it is 45 years old. The township engineer Edward Broberg suggested the township replace the whole 300 feet of the pipe.

About $20,000 will be directed to the additional work on the culvert and stream at Heyward Hills. During the storm, something caused Flat Creek to flood the entire area with stormwater and mud, causing severe damage to a home at 7 Heyward Hills Drive. 

At the earlier meeting on September 1, resident Tom Critelli described the serious damage sustained at his house. He said he does not have flood insurance.  

"We have had problems with that storm system for years," he said. Last year, Critelli said public workers pulled tree stumps, big boulders and debris from the sewer pipe outside his home, but the line was still partially blocked when the storm hit. 

Engineer Ed Broberg assured Critelli at the meeting that work would begin immediately to clean out the stream, catch basins and pipe inspection. The township would not do work at private homes, however. 

"I dont know what happened but it certainly happened. We're going to take care of it and move forward," he assured Critelli.