Lake Como Eyes $160K in State Funds for Main Street

The wheels are in motion for Lake Como’s Main Street to undergo a facelift courtesy of state funding.

The borough council introduced an ordinance Monday night to authorize $160,000 worth of improvements to the town’s primary thoroughfare and its intersections with the numbered streets between the town’s north and south borders.

The construction itself will be coverd by a $160,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Municipal Aid Program for fiscal year 2011 according to a copy of the pending ordinance.

With the state money in hand, the borough will be able to undertake and complete roadway paving and drainage improvements. The borough’s capital budget for calendar year 2011 wiill be amended to show receipt of the grant according to the ordinance.

The project is expected to be completed in two phases
according to Borough Administrator Louise Mekosh. The first phase will include paving and repairs to the portion of Main Street between 16th and 18th avenues. The second will cover paving and repairs to the southern portion of Main Street between 18thand 22nd avenues.

Officials have not announced a approximate time frame for construction to begin. Main Street in Lake Como is a part of the much longer State Highway 71.

Last month, the council accepted a proposal by Birdsall Service Group of Tinton Falls, to provide almost $34,900 worth of engineering services in conjunction with the Main Street project.

Those services include topographic and location surveys, design, contract document and bid support, management of contractors during construction, and core laboratory testing according to a copy of the resolution by the council on July 19.

A second reading and public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for the council’s next meeting on Aug. 16.