From the Township of South Orange Village:
Long awaited improvements to Scotland Road, a county road in South Orange, will begin in early May with the recent award of a contract to Colonnelli Brothers set to break ground in late May to replace the water main that runs the length of the roadway. The South Orange Water Utility and their consultant engineering firm, HDR, will oversee the project with help from New Jersey American Water, the operator of South Orange’s water system. Together they plan to replace the 120+ year old water main while adding 39 new LED gas lamp lookalike street lights and improved curbing. When this phase is complete in August, Essex County will take over the remainder of the project that will include repaving of the road, grooved pavement on center lines and curve shoulders, re-centered lanes, shoulder striping, and crosswalk striping, ADA accessible intersections, ramps, and crosswalks, signage, and a raised intersection (speed table) at Raymond Avenue to help slow traffic. As a finishing touch South Orange will plant up to 50 street trees along the route to further improve the aesthetics of one of its busiest corridors.
Detours and disruptions will be ongoing from May through August, 2020 so residents and travelers are encouraged to seek alternate routes and subscribe to the following information sources for regular updates.
- Sign up on www.southorange.org for “Water Utility” alerts using the Village’s “Notify Me” text and email service.
- Find detailed traffic redirection plans here.
- Scotland Road residents should look for a hand delivered letter from SOVWU.
- Contact Howard Levison, SOWU Administrator with questions at 973-378-7715 x7760 or hlevison@southorange.org
South Orange Water Utility Administrator, Howard Levison, said he is “looking forward to replacing the water main, which dates from 1852, with one which will have greater capacity and reliability to serve the system and its residents. The new street lighting will look like the gas lamps but be more energy efficient.” Village Administrator, Adam Loehner, added “we have long had safety and pedestrian concerns with this high traffic county road and we think, in addition to the improved safety features, the aesthetic improvements will have a psychological effect that also calms traffic by making the corridor look more quiet and residential.”
The South Orange Water Utility contractors will post hangtags on doors when homes will be directly affected. The timetable for the Essex County paving portion of the project is still not set but the South Orange website and social media will be updated with it when the county releases the information. More information and schedule updates can be found here.
