HOBOKEN —Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), the public utility for Hudson County, will begin a major infrastructure upgrade to 60 percent of Hoboken’s gas lines around July 21, the office of Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced on Monday.
However, the project could take longer than PSE&G had hoped after the Hoboken City Council voted down a construction noise waiver that would have allowed contractors to work from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays.
Over the next two years, almost six miles of low-pressure cast iron gas lines in Hoboken will be replaced with high-pressure plastic lines that better resist leaks during flooding. According to PSE&G District Manager Michael Gallagher, during Superstorm Sandy, some of the cast-iron lines in the city flooded, resulting in blockages.
In addition, Hoboken’s three electric substations will be consolidated into two structures that will be elevated to protect from floods.
While unanimous in their support for upgrading outdated infrastructure, elected officials in Hoboken expressed concerns about the disruption repairs will cause. PSE&G officials at Wednesday’s council meeting said that extending the hours of work would allow the first stage of the project to be finished one and a half months earlier. The full project must be completed in eighteen months.
Several council members said they were unwilling to inconvenience their residents with noise and service disruptions in the mornings and on Saturdays simply to finish a project earlier. The waiver was voted down by a vote of 6 to 3.
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