Road conditions in South Amboy after the storm
*Photo by Mariyah Wojcik
By Mariyah Wojcik
SOUTH AMBOY- After recent snowstorms, concern was expressed about the adequacy of snow plowing efforts at the City Council meeting.
On Wednesday night, 12/18/13, there were few residents in attendance, and the meeting was quite short. While the meeting only last fifteen minutes, one resident was determined to hold the council accountable for the mishaps that occurred in the previous week.
Timely snow removal is necessary to avoid accidents and delays in South Amboy. Without this service, as was the case on Raritan Reach Road, icy conditions can bring traffic to a crawl.
“It looked like a single pass had been made,” said one resident, who lives on Raritan Reach Road, “No other plowing was done.”
According to the resident, there had been eight to nine feet of snow along the road piled one foot deep, making it impossible to drive down the road. This layer froze at night, making driving very dangerous for residents that live in the area.
“We need to try to get a handle on that,”the resident continued, expressing concern about future snowstorms.
Mayor Fred Henry acknowledged that there had been a problem, because the road was finally determined to be the city’s responsibility to plow, not the county’s.
“We have been down twice today and twice yesterday to salt it,” Henry said. “I think the situation has been rectified.”
Although there was improvement on Raritan Reach Road, large sheets of ice could still be found. Ice was both along the side of the road, as well as in the center, a clear driving hazard for all who use this route.
