Franklin Avenue to Close in Both Directions to Allow for Rail Work

Township officials are working to coordinate outside road projects that will close Franklin Avenue in order to limit their impact on motorists.

"We're trying to make the best of a bad situation we didn't create," township Administrator Robert Shannon said Tuesday.

Crews are expected back Oct. 18 to finish work on the railroad crossing just off Town Hall, while PSE&G crews are trying to schedule a time to work on gas lines on Franklin that would also necessitate a closure. Township officials were adamant about not closing the busy thoroughfare for two separate periods of time, especially as the holiday season nears.

"We're insisting upon not allowing this to go into the holiday season out of respect for the business community," police Chief Benjamin Fox said.

"The goal is to try to get PSE&G at the same time," Fox said, and "piggyback two projects."

Fox said crews will definitely be back on Oct. 18 to finish rail work begun in August, when traffic was affected to allow for the replacement of an underground storm drain at the tracks.

"There will be a complete refurbishing of the rail crossing," the chief said, with crews removing the rails and leveling the crossing.

"It will make it much smoother" for motorists, he said.

That work will force a 24-hour closure in both directions, with work concentrated at the tracks. Blocking the road will necessitate a detour route that will likely take motorists traveling from the road's intersection with Wyckoff Avenue to Main Street, back to Wyckoff Avenue, to Greenwood Avenue, to Godwin Avenue and back to Franklin Avenue. Those heading up from Waldwick would turn onto Godwin, make a left onto Greenwood, left onto Wyckoff and then back to Franklin.

"There's no way to do this without a lot of congestion," Fox said.

The rail work will take at least five to seven days, although the chief said it could last through Oct. 30.

Complicating plans is a request from PSE&G for access to the county road to repair leaks in pipes on Franklin, north of the railroad crossing toward Wyckoff Avenue. The detour route would likely be tweaked if township officials are able to secure a commitment from the utility company to schedule their work to coincide with the closure starting Oct. 18, as there likely would not be access to Main Street from Franklin Avenue.

But as of Wednesday, the township did "not have a firm commitment from PSE&G to come in on Oct. 18," Fox said.

Shannon noted that the township has "no control over them, no authority over them" in "trying to prod them to avoid a double closure."

However, Fox said he will essentially not allow two separate road closures, unless the utility company needed immediate access for service and safety reasons.

"If it's so emergent, I would not step in the way of this," he said. "The work, in my opinion, is not emergent.

"Whether it got done today or next spring may not make a difference," Fox said.

If PSE&G cannot work this month, the chief said he would not want to close the road again later in the year.

"We always go to great lengths to make sure there's no roadway work that affects businesses."

While the railroad work will close traffic in both directions, Fox said there will be access to Franklin Avenue businesses and Boulder Run at all times.

Mayor Rudy Boonstra said Tuesday that he will join efforts to convince PSE&G to schedule their work to coincide with the rail project. Shannon expects the township to post information on its website once details are worked out with the utility company, and all those who register their email addresses at the township will be notified when the township posts details. The business community also can expect a letter from the township, officials said.

"This is a significant location," Fox said. "It's not going to be pretty."