FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2004
Contact:Teresa Ruiz
973-621-4404
Anthony Puglisi
973-621-2542
ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES
COMPLETION OF CULVERT RECONSTRUCTION ON
LITTLE FALLS ROAD AND GRANDVIEW AVENUE IN NORTH CALDWELL
Infrastructure Improvements Address Area Flooding Problems and
Improve the Quality of Life
North Caldwell, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced the
completion of an $800,000 project to replace two culverts on Little Falls Road and
Grandview Avenue in North Caldwell on Monday, November 22nd. The work was
finished in less than four months, and the improvements will help address flooding
problems in the area.
“Getting this project completed was important for the quality of life for residents in North
Caldwell,” DiVincenzo said. “Upgrading the culverts on Little Falls Road and Grandview
Avenue will help prevent flooding and damage to properties in the area,” he noted.
“Changing conditions upstream have resulted in a noticeable increase in the amount of
water in the stream that exceeds the original design capacity of the culverts,” DiVincenzo
said. “Redesigning the culverts is a proactive approach to address some of North
Caldwell’s flooding problems,” he added.
The culverts on Grandview Avenue and Little Falls Road were both built in the 1930s
and were not designed to handle the volume of water from recent housing developments
that drains into the stream. Even though the two culverts were still operational,
DiVincenzo decided to upgrade the structures to accommodate the water runoff coming
from upstream development to eliminate flooding conditions.
“I think the administration has done a great job with this project,” Freeholder Muriel
Shore said about the improvements being completed in just four months and the positive
effect it will have on the quality of life for residents.
“North Caldwell is extremely happy that Joe DiVincenzo took the time and interest in
this project. Previous conditions had an adverse effect on the quality of life for our
residents,” North Caldwell Mel Levine said. “The County Executive has helped us out
tremendously and I am glad the work was done in record time,” he added.
To reduce the impact on traffic in the area, reconstruction of the Little Falls Road culvert
was completed first. Once Little Falls Road was reopened, work began on the Grandview
Avenue culvert.
One section of the existing Little Falls Road culvert was a 48-inch reinforced concrete
pipe culvert and the remaining section was a 3.5-foot by 6.5-foot arch culvert. It will be
replaced with a 4-foot by 8-foot concrete box culvert. The existing Grandview Avenue
culvert was a twin 36-inch concrete pipe culvert. It will be replaced with a 5-foot by 9foot concrete box culvert. On average, the new design of both culverts doubles the
amount of area for the stream to flow through. This will prevent larger pieces of debris
from getting caught beneath the culvert and make it easier to clean if it does get clogged.
Hatch, Mott, MacDonald of Millburn (formerly Killiam Associates) was awarded a
$134,543 contract to design both culverts and Rittaco Construction of Belleville was
awarded a $544,106 contract to build the structures. Essex County spent $117,000 to
directly purchase precast materials from Rotando Precast. The project is being financed
through Essex County’s Capital Budget.
Other improvement projects Essex County currently is undertaking are the construction
of a Bear Exhibit and Animal Hospital in Turtle Back Zoo, a new Environmental Center,
upgraded athletic fields in Ivy Hill Park and Branch Brook Park, and the renovation and
expansion of South Mountain Arena. Some projects that have been completed recently
are a Park-N-Ride at South Mountain Arena, public parking facility in Newark, upgrades
in West Side Park and Grover Cleveland Park, and reconstruction of Vauxhall Road
Bridge in Millburn.
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