UPDATE ON SINATRA DRIVE NORTH, CASTLE POINT PARK AND SINATRA PARK
While making progress on reconstruction of the collapsed walkway at Castle Point Park and Sinatra Park, the Zimmer Administration remains in regular contact with Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise regarding the status of the collapsed road on Sinatra Drive North.
County Executive DeGise has assured Mayor Dawn Zimmer that the County will fix the road for the long term to ensure that it does not collapse again. The County today announced that the nearly century-old timber relieving platform supporting 15 to 20 feet of sand and soil and the Sinatra Drive roadway near 14th Street experienced catastrophic failure due to a combination of age, marine life infestation and load stresses. The County will completely replace the timber platform with a new concrete structure. According to the County, the $1.7 million project will be completed in May, 2011. The County has also said that they will replace another section of the road just north of the collapse built upon a newer timber platform unless further investigation proves that the newer platform is sound.
“This is the third time that this particular road has collapsed. We have been extremely lucky so far that nobody has been injured, but we need to take action to make sure this never happens again – not just at this particular location, but along the entire waterfront,” said Mayor Zimmer. “I am advocating strongly to have this project completed as quickly as possible, but I do appreciate and thank County Executive DeGise for recognizing and agreeing that this road needs to be fully repaired in a sustainable way. My Administration will continue to take steps to fully evaluate the entire waterfront. I look forward to continuing to work with Freeholder Anthony Romano to advocate strongly for Hoboken’s best interests.”
Mayor Zimmer continues to convey to the County the importance of completely repairing the roadway as expeditiously as possible.
Complete Waterfront Evaluation
In addition to the County-owned portion of Sinatra Drive, the City is continuing a process that began last fall with the City’s former engineer to evaluate the integrity of the entire waterfront. City engineers completed the mapping process to identify the owners of each section of the waterfront. As the City’s new engineer, Boswell Engineering is conducting an evaluation of the entire waterfront by boat at low tide. In addition, the Administration is currently working with Boswell to draft an ordinance to clarify and require that property owners take specific actions to maintain the waterfront.
Castle Point Park Walkway
City engineers recently completed geotechnical studies for the collapsed walkway section of Castle Point Park. Engineers have proposed creating a sheet metal bulkhead around the walkway and filling it in with lightweight concrete. The City engineer is working to acquire the appropriate permits from the DEP.
Frank Sinatra Park
City engineers recently completed geotechnical studies at Frank Sinatra Park and have met with the DEP to review and discuss plans. Following an additional meeting with the DEP, the Administration hopes to introduce to a City Council subcommittee a concept for Frank Sinatra Park that would significantly reduce the time frame and cost to rebuild the park.
Link: http://www.hobokennj.org/news/
