October 31, 1997

Mr. Steve Lanset
Jersey City, NJ 07302

Dear Mr. Lanset:

I received a copy of your letter dated October 12, 1997, in reference to the Jersey Avenue Extension, from Mayor Bret Schundler. As per our telephone conversation of early last week, Mayor Schundler has requested that I respond to you in writing on behalf of the City.

The road construction that you speak about on Jersey Avenue (South of Grand Street) is not an extension of the roadway at all. This section already existed, but was deteriorating with continuous pavement failures resulting from the poor subgrade, no drainage, and a lack of proper maintenance. Jersey Avenue access is essential for those businesses that are located south of Grand Street, several businesses have operated for years utilizing the southern portion of Jersey Avenue to gain entrance onto Grand Street in order to travel onto the Turnpike, Communipaw Avenue (Truck Routes 1 & 9), and other major arteries in order to conduct their business.

To answer your question more specifically, the roadway improvement was part of the LRT construction and is considered at this time a temporary roadway. The existing Jersey Avenue will be rehabilitated but needs complete closure. Therefore, it was necessary to build a temporary structure in order to allow the businesses south of Grand Street to conduct business without impeding their daily activities. During this period, the original Jersey Avenue will be reconstructed and subsequently the elevated portion of the roadway will be removed.

We do not anticipate any additional traffic since the roadway does not enable you to gain any access to any new structures or facilities. The primary reason for the elevated roadway is to enable New Jersey Transit to rehabilitate the existing roadway without adversely affecting the businesses south of Grand Street. This roadway is not intended to become part of another roadway not is it intended to remain.

Thank you for your interest in the growing development of Jersey City. If you have any further questions feel free to contact my office.

Sincerely,
Kevin Sluka, Director

cc: Mariano Vega, Councilman Ward E