Anyone who imagined that the George Washington Bridgegate scandal was an aberration should look no further than Rocky Hill, where the Rt. 518 Canal Bridge, and more than $3.5B worth of roadwork statewide, has gotten a big stop-work order from the State. It appears unlikely that any sort of deal in Trenton to re-start the bridge project will be settled before the presidential campaign, described by pundits as a “bonfire in a dumpster,” ends at November elections. It’s all of a piece: a major political party is hijacked by a malignant narcissist, a governor gets the Ebola variant of Potomac Fever, and Rocky Hill suffers from the life-threatening consequences.
The bridge project, which was supposed to be complete long before school starts, may not be completed before the cement and asphalt factories close for winter and stay closed until after Easter.
Both Montgomery Township Committee, 100% Republican as of the last election, and Rocky Hill Borough Council have been trying to get the State to exempt the bridge construction from the stop-work order, claiming the obvious threat to health and safety: Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital is essentially inaccessible to both MEMS and the Rocky Hill First Aid Squads, as are RWJH and St Peter’s in New Brunswick. Nor can Rocky Hill Hook and Ladder and Montgomery Fire Companies 1 and 2 easily back up Kingston and Franklin as it had been doing for some time. Also, when River Road and the Griggstown Causeway are flooded, as during the last weekend of July, both Robert Wood Hospital and St. Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick are less accessible (see our story, “3 Rig Circus”).
This may be inconvenient for a few weeks during the summer. But stretched over the winter, it could be life-threatening to someone forced to spend the “golden hour” bleeding while stuck in a traffic jam. Morning traffic to Princeton now backs up Rt. 206 past the tennis courts. Once vacationers return to work and school starts, it will be likely to worsen. Christie’s response? He is reported to have said, “The roads are fine. You don’t hear regular folks complaining about this.”
On August 6, one resident reported that a truck with a trailer, eastbound on Rt. 518, encountered the barricade at lower Crescent Avenue, swung wide to make the turn, and crushed a mini-car, trapping the occupants for some length of time until they were rescued. On August 4, another truck with a huge trailer went past the barricade almost as far as the bridge, then had to back up without hitting anything, until it could be redirected. Similar “GPS-assisted” incidents are likely to occur in the future as befuddled motorists attempt to navigate back roads.
It’s bad for Rocky Hill businesses, who have all seen a big decline in traffic. On any given day during what had been rush hour, it’s possible to roll a bowling ball down Washington Street and not hit a car. The other Rocky Hill project stopped by the Christie is Phase 3 of the Downtown Beautification project, in which the State would have reimbursed the Borough for some $90,000 worth of work on the Washington Street project. Speaking of which, on Aug. 15, Borough Council authorized payment of $32,225 to Think Pavers for completion of all work along Washington Street.
And according to US Dept. of Labor Statistics, some 3,200 construction jobs were lost during peak construction season in NJ as a consequence of the statewide closures, raising NJ unemployment to 5.2%.
Anyone looking for help from Assemblyman Ciattarelli (R) should look elsewhere. Although he claims to be “acutely aware of the health and safety issues,” his response via press release has been, “Count me out for any immediate 23 cent gas tax increase.” Remember that when you vote in November.
Meanwhile, as the Somerset County Bridge Dept. continued work on the Rt. 518 Millstone River Bridge (not the Canal Bridge) Mayor Donahue joined the Mayors of Franklin and South Brunswick in a spontaneous protest on August 19, following the Governor’s announcement on mid-August that some funding may be raided from general State revenues to aid the bankrupt Transportation Fund in funding projects necessary for “health and safety.” Cynics observe that the language of the Governor’s statement indicates that this may just be another power grab by a governor who has clearly no interest in either. Mayor Donahue responded, “It may not be the doomsday scenario, but I don’t have a lot of faith in it.”
At the July 18 meeting Borough Council authorized a “Third Party Lease Agreement” with Cingular Wireless through ATT for new cellphone antennas at the water tower. They also met in executive session to discuss possible litigation with Think Pavers Hardscaping, regarding the recent Downtown beautification Project. The issue was final numbers for maintenance. Mayor Donahue said that an agreement was reached and the issue has passed.
During the August 15 meeting, Borough Council authorized the hiring of Billy Epps as Recycling Coordinator, at $50 per hour.
Council also passed a resolution to accept credit, debit cards, and e-cards for payment of taxes and municipal water bills.
And finally, Council approved a new lease for the Rocky hill Cooperative Nursery in the first floor of Borough Hall.
There were 13 new moving violations, and 13 moving violations were disposed off, with total Court receipts of $1471. Rocky Hill’s share was $275.
Property Tax receipts through Aug. 4 were $256,410. The total receipts for the year are $1,513,190.
Meanwhile, the Rocky Hill Day festivities were a success, with a parade followed by a pot-luck picnic behind Borough Hall.
US 1 Newspaper, as part of its July 27 Summer Literature special, published a poem, lyrics to a song really, called “Rocky Hill,” by Dan Rappoport, a Princeton resident. Very nice.
The Rocky Hill Community Group is sponsoring a fundraising Art Sale on September 17 at the Amy Garrett House. Any artists wishing to participate please contact Jill Cook at 609-558-9516.
Borough Council meets next on Sept 19 before returning to the normal schedule of first and third Monday evenings at 7:30 pm at Borough Hall. For more information, visit www.rockyhill-nj.gov.