Mayor Steven Fulop has lifted the suspension on all PSE&G construction work in Jersey City he imposed on Aug. 17 after the utility company and the city came to an agreement on a re-paving schedule for local roads.
The agreement was reached late on Aug. 20 when PSE&G issued a schedule that would have all roads damaged by their maintenance work fully repaved by the end of November.
PSE&G work will resume on Monday, Aug. 24 after having ceased work for about a week.
“We’re very happy we could come to an agreement with PSE&G,” said Fulop, “and we look forward to working with them to keep Jersey City infrastructure in a state of repair we can all be proud of.”
“PSE&G is pleased to be working so closely with Mayor Fulop and his administration,” said Ralph LaRossa, president of PSE&G. “We look forward to getting back to work and servicing this great city and its residents.”
The city gives more than 1,200 permits to utility companies like PSE&G every year so they can dig up roads to perform maintenance on their underground infrastructure: gas mains, power lines, etc. Fulop had suspended all PSE&G work on Monday, saying the company was not complying with a new Jersey City ordinance. Under that law, utility companies must return streets to the condition they found them prior to starting construction.
Under the Aug. 20 agreement, PSE&G will start re-paving their roughly two dozen ongoing projects in Jersey City starting in September with the work finishing in November. Because of the time it takes their underground work to “settle,” this fall is soonest the utility company could begin providing a fresh and permanent layer of pavement.
There are also about 50 additional projects that PSE&G has planned but not yet started. Under the agreement, PSE&G will begin these projects next spring, the earliest time weather conditions will allow for a quick repaving.
Officials and resident were angered over poor street repairs
Standing on the corner of Jersey and Christopher Columbus avenues on Monday, Aug. 17, Fulop ordered the shutdown of all non-essential PSE&G projects until the utility company complied with a city ordinance requiring them to properly repave streets. PSE&G is currently in the midst of a massive upgrade of underground utilities, and has been digging up streets throughout the city.
Joined by some members of the City Council and the Hudson County Board of Freeholders, Fulop ordered the drastic action after saying that PSE&G had failed to fully repair streets after they dug them up.
The City Council approved an ordinance last January that requires contractors to fully repave city streets following the completion of any work. This came after years of complaints over utility workers digging up recently repaved streets.
“PSE&G is aware of the mayor’s concerns.” – Karen Johnson, corporate communications spokesperson for PSE&G.
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Fulop, pointing to a patch several blocks long, said the quality of the patch did not meet city standards. Too often, the mayor said, PSE&G fails to adequately repair or repave the road, leaving the streets unsightly and in disrepair.
Road quality is a significant issue across the state. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, poor roads cost each New Jersey motorist an average of $605 per year because of associated problems like vehicle wear-and-tear and gas burned while waiting in traffic.
The mayor and Hudson County officials threatened to also call on legislators in Trenton to make re-paving requirements, like the ones in the Jersey City ordinance, statewide.
Municipalities throughout Hudson County have complained for decades about the timing of utility repairs that sometimes occur after a street has been freshly resurfaced. Local governments have sought remedies from companies such as PSE&G for higher quality of patching, and better communication to allow non-emergency work to get scheduled prior to a municipal repaving.
Jersey City ordinance modeled on Union City
The Jersey City ordinance, advanced by Ward E Councilwoman Candice Osborne, was modeled after a successful Union City road-resurfacing program. It specifically prohibits the opening of streets repaved in the last five years except for emergency repairs, and requires contractors to repave curb-to-curb any road that has been resurfaced by the city within the last 10 years.
The ordinance comes in response to resident complaints of the patchwork of asphalt along city streets left by contractors, which city officials say contribute to potholes and undermine the integrity of roadways.
In 2014, Jersey City spent $1.7 million – a combination of capital funds and state Department of Transportation grant dollars – on street resurfacing projects citywide.
When crafting the ordinance, Osborne and city staff met with Union City officials to understand how their measure worked and to determine best practices.
For any street where a full repaving is not required, the contractor must adhere to a new and improved engineering standard utilizing infrared technology when patching the road. The measure also requires contractors to file a $25,000 security bond with the city, ensure engineering oversight of the backfilling process, and fully restore cobblestone streets and pedestrian crossings.
A county-wide issue
While PSE&G and other utilities are regulated by the state Board of Public Utilities, permission for digging up streets in non-emergency situations still rests with local governments. This allows Jersey City and Hudson County to stop projects.
Freeholder Chairman Junior Maldonado said the Board of Freeholder intends to introduce legislation that mirrors the Jersey City ordinance in order to force companies like PSE&G to comply.
“When I served on the City Council from 2001 to 2005, we had similar concerns,” Maldonado said. “We did the same thing and shut them down. We even raised the fine. But this is a vicious cycle. After a while, they (the utility companies) stop paying attention and go back to what they did before.”
The problem has been exacerbated by the fact that PSE&G is undergoing a massive upgrade to its facilities, requiring miles of underground work beneath significant portions of streets. Even as Fulop made his announcement shutting down the work, whole blocks of downtown Jersey City had been posted against parking for expected digging.
Councilman Khemraj “Chico” Ramchal said residents are blaming local officials for the condition of the streets.
“This is not our fault, but we get the blame,” he said, noting that the repaving of the streets affects the quality of life for residents in a number of ways, including an impact on the bike sharing program.
Freeholder Anthony Romano, who represents a portion of Jersey City and all of Hoboken, said this is not only an issue in Jersey City, but around the county as well.
“We see the same thing happening on county roads in Hoboken,” he said, noting that the temporary patches used often deteriorate during changes of seasons and temperature. “Water and salt erodes these.”
This often results in damage to vehicles.
Ward A Councilman Frank Gajewski said areas around Ocean Avenue in Jersey City are significantly worse than downtown.
“This is something that has been going on for years and nobody has been held accountable,” he said. “The council is always blamed for the condition of the streets.”
Freeholder Bill O’Dea said there are similar issues on JFK Boulevard, a county road that runs from Bayonne to the northern tip of North Bergen.
PSE&G workers digging up streets near Route 440 in the Country Village section of Jersey City said they were unaware of the city shut down about two hours after the city’s press conference concluded.
Although Fulop said suburban municipalities appear to get more respect from utility companies, suburban Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson) announced that it would also impose similar rules, citing similar problems with streets being dug up by utility companies.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.