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8/1/18 Business Meeting

By: Joseph L. Kuchie

SOUTH AMBOY – City Engineer Mark Rasimowicz provided the city council with an update on the ‘Hole In The Wall’ after meeting with Conrail last week.

Rasimowicz and Business Administrator Glen Skarzynski met with Conrail and the Middlesex County engineer to discuss the items of concern at the tunnel located at North Stevens Avenue and Pupek Road, including water leaks and cement falling from the ceiling.

“They acknowledged that there is a problem and they are talking about fixes coming up in their capital 2019 budget,” Rasimowicz said. “We’re going to have a meeting on site with their engineer, the county engineer, and myself to look at the exact issues and pinpoint what they can do right now prior to going to the full capital improvement.”

Councilman Brian McLaughlin asked if Conrail or the county would shut the tunnel down due to safety concerns. Rasimowicz noted that the city would have a follow-up meeting on site to evaluate the tunnel’s infrastructure. 

“They are insisting that their documentation indicates that there is no safety issue, we’re contending there is or there is a concern with some of that debris or chips of concrete falling,” Rasimowicz said. “That’s what we’re going out to look at first hand with both parties on site.”

Rasimowicz also mentioned that shutting down the tunnel would be problematic for traffic flow in the city, especially with the potential road repairs at Lower Main Street pending. Shutting down both areas at the same time would ultimately split the city in half.

Rasimowicz and Skarzynski both seemed pleased with the support they were receiving from Middlesex County and seemed hopeful that something would be done soon.

“It’s very clear that [Middlesex County] Freeholder Director [Ronald] Rios has brought everything that the county has to bear to deal with this,” Skarzynski said. “We’re being more than amply supported in that regard.”

“I would say the sum is for Conrail to fix it or the county is going to fix and Conrail is going to flip the bill,” Rasimowicz said.

The meeting began with a nearly 1 ½ hour closed session regarding the Manhattan Beach Project. All council members were in attendance for the business meeting.

The next city council meeting will be held on August 15th at 7:00 p.m.