Mahwah May 23, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Drainage project to impact West Airmount by Frank J. McMahon The replacement of a large drainage pipe in West Airmount Road between Franklin Turnpike and Island Road is expected to impact the flow of traffic in the spring and summer of 2013. West Airmount passes under the Conrail railroad tracks where the road is only wide enough to permit one lane of traffic. The road is one of the two in that area which provide access from one side of the railroad track overpass to the other. Kevin Boswell of Boswell McClave Engineering, the township’s engineering firm, advised the council that the existing drainage pipe is in poor condition and in need of replacement. He told the council the pipe could be replaced with a Polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastic pipe for about $460,000 or a concrete pipe for about $500,000. According to Boswell, the engineering professional services in connection with this improvement would cost an additional $98,700. He recommended the concrete pipe due to the heavy traffic on that road. Boswell explained that a concrete pipe should last for 60 years, much longer than a PVC pipe would. Mahwah Township Administrator Brian Campion agreed with Boswell that concrete was the better choice since it has a longer life and because of the railroad underpass on that road he does not want the township to have to go through this again for a very long time. “The project is long overdue,” Campion said. “The existing pipe has outlived its useful life and we want a pipe that will last as long as possible.” The council approved a resolution awarding a $98,700 professional services contract to Boswell Engineering. That action followed an extensive discussion about the timing of the project and what impact it might have on traffic and the ability of emergency services to travel from one side of the railroad tracks to the other during the construction. Boswell advised the council that, with this approval, the analysis of the project would begin in July and an application would be prepared that month and submitted to the county in August. Approval of the project should be received by November. Bids would then be sought and a contract could be awarded next March. The project should be completed sometime next May, Boswell said. After the project is finished, the roadway would be allowed to settle before it is paved in October 2013. Councilman John Roth asked Boswell if the project would create a significant disruption in traffic in the area. The engineer responded that, during the construction phase of the project, which involves the excavation of the road (continued on page 31)