METUCHEN – Already in the midst of a pipeline replacement by Elizabethtown Gas, the neighborhoods in the area of Plainfield and Durham avenues and Central and Maple avenues will have water mains renewed as part of Middlesex Water Company’s Renew program.
“We saw an opportunity for the area to get new assets and new infrastructure in the area without disturbing customers twice and ripping up the road to do the same type of work,” said Andrew Vaccarelo, project engineer for Middlesex Water Company.
Vaccarelo and Hector Garcia, of Elizabethtown Gas Company, appeared before the Metuchen Borough Council to discuss the projects in July.
Middlesex Water will begin a $3.7 million project to upgrade drinking water infrastructure in the northwest section of the borough starting Sept. 8.
Under its 2020 Renew program, Middlesex Water intends to replace 3.3 miles or 17,500 linear feet of water mains, as well as service lines, valves and fire hydrants to help enhance overall service quality and improve fire flows. Middlesex Water is coordinating its utility work schedule and road openings with the gas company working in the area so work can be done all at once, avoiding subsequent disruptions to customers and area residents.
The streets/intersections affected by the renew project include Main Street, Plainfield Avenue and Durham Avenue, Main Street and Martin Street, Central Avenue, Forrest Street and Maple Avenue, Elm Court, Talmadge Avenue, Main Street and Center Street, Maple Avenue, Main Street and Central Avenue, W. Chestnut Avenue, Midland Avenue, Columbia Avenue, Plainfield Avenue and W. Chestnut Avenue, Harvard Avenue, Plainfield Avenue and W. Chestnut Avenue, University Avenue, Plainfield Avenue and W. Chestnut Avenue, Princeton Street, Rutgers Street, University Avenue and Central Avenue, Center Street, Midland Avenue and Durham Avenue, Martin Street, and W. Chestnut Avenue and Durham Avenue.
As part of the Renew program, Middlesex Water will also be installing exterior meter pits at each customer’s premise. To ensure the continued safety of customers and our crews, no access to a customer’s home will be required during this project and work teams will observe social distancing guidelines.
Elizabethtown Gas is improving its natural gas pipeline system that provides safe and reliable natural gas to more than 292,000 customers across northern New Jersey.
The replacement of 10,000 feet of gas main in Metuchen will affect 386 customers. The project started on July 6 and will be conducted in phases, Garcia said.
The work in the neighborhood is part of the company’s ongoing pipeline replacement program to replace aging natural gas mains and services with new, durable plastic. In many cases, gas meters will be relocated from the inside of homes and businesses to the outside. Relocating the gas meter outside provides enhanced safety and reliability, easier access to gas meters in the event of an emergency or natural disaster, and additional convenience in meter maintenance without the need for customers to be present, according to Elizabethtown Gas Company.
The streets impacted by the gas project include Aylin Street, Center Street, Central Avenue, Columbia Avenue, Durham Avenue, Harvard Avenue, Main Street, Maple Avenue, Martin Street, Midland Avenue, Plainfield Avenue, Princeton Street, Rutgers Street, Sampson Street, Talmadge Avenue, University Avenue and W. Chestnut Avenue.
The gas project is expected to complete by spring 2021 and the water project is expected to compete by December.
