CONTACT:
Dale
Goodreau FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(856)
455-3230 Ext 225
Kevin
Rabago
(856)
451-3407 Ext 1
CITY SECURES
$2.9 MILLION IN FEMA FUNDS TO RESTORE PARK RACEWAY
After many months of intensive
review and discussion with State and Federal officials on restoring the Raceway
Dam in City Park, damaged two weeks prior to Hurricane Irene in August of 2011,
the City of Bridgeton received word March 26th that FEMA will award
$2,919,573 in funding to help carry out an estimated $5,392,765 worth of
repairs required for the raceway.
“We are very pleased with
the outcome on what has arguably been a long, though ultimately fruitful
process, to get the raceway restored to its rightful place in our city park; finally
back to a condition where our residents can enjoy this unique and historically
significant feature again” said Bridgeton Mayor Albert Kelly.
After factoring in
$1,500,000 in insurance money received by the municipality, FEMA ended up approving
a project budget of $3,892,765 and the $2,919,573 FEMA award will be combined
with a City contribution of $973,191.25 to round out the nearly $5.4 estimated
price tag for the Raceway repairs.
The damage, a result of
heavy rains and localized flooding, caused a section of the Sunset Lake Raceway
Dam to fail, which in turn led to the emptying of Sunset Lake. After assessing
the damage in mid-August 2011, City officials embarked on a two and half year
process working with FEMA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection to get detailed plans approved for the restoration project.
According to Kelly, many improvements
have been included in the project in an effort to prevent this type of
devastation from happening in future storms. “Improvements include raising the
level of the Raceway so as to maintain a consistent level along the entire
length, creating a “cutoff dam” at the northern end of the Raceway, and
providing a spillway to control the overall water level in the Raceway Dam”
Kelly said.
To date, the City’s
engineering firm, Fralinger Engineering, has completed plans and received the
necessary permits and approvals to move forward and the anticipated
construction time, after acceptance of the construction bids, should be
approximately 10 months.
“I am gratified with the
assistance we’re receiving from FEMA and the effort put forth by our team to
get to this point; but the real takeaway here is that we’ll be able to return
Sunset Lake and an improved Raceway to our residents to enjoy for many seasons
to come.” said Kelly.
#
# #