KELLY ANNOUNCES SUNSET LAKE
AND RACEWAY COMPLETE- READY FOR WATER
In what Bridgeton Mayor
Albert Kelly describes as “a long time coming”, City officials are set to
essentially cut the ribbon and lift the gate on the newly renovated Raceway Dam
in Bridgeton City Park allowing water to once again collect and flow through
Sunset Lake and the Raceway for the first time in 45 months.
“I’m delighted to be able
to inform our residents and the many visitors to our park that Sunset Lake will
be back on line along with the Raceway. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s
also been well worth the wait. Sunset Lake and the Raceway are iconic features
of our park and we have missed them” Kelly said.
It was the flooding
rainstorms over a two day period in August 2011 that initially overwhelmed the
system and sent surging water from the Upper Cohansey Watershed down into
Sunset Lake that ultimately led to the blow out in a portion of the Raceway; which
led in turn to the draining of Sunset Lake into the Cohansey River.
Over the intervening 45
months, City officials worked closely with City engineers, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on approving plans, funding, and related
issues in an effort to get to the restoration phase.
The project, initially
estimated to be $5.3 million when completed, ended up with an overall price tag
of $4 million. The bulk of the funding, namely insurance and federal sources,
allowed for a design that centered on features intended to prevent similar
failures in the future.
The actual improvements
include creating a cutoff dam, building up and reinforcing compromised
sections, raising the level of the Raceway to be consistent along its entire
length, and creating a spillway to control water levels.
“Reopening the Raceway and
the lake represents a lot of work on the part of City staff, our professionals,
and the workers onsite. The effort involved is even more amazing considering
the fact that the Raceway was built by a father and son team in 1811 for the
Cumberland Nail and Iron Works” Kelly said.
While the 2011 bicentennial
of the Raceway was overshadowed by the damage that was done, Kelly sees 2015,
which is the bicentennial for the Nail House, as a perfect time to present a
restored Raceway and lake back to Bridgeton and the wider community throughout
Cumberland County.
To do that, Kelly along
with City officials, will host a number of County and State partners,
well-wishers among the public, and a variety of other stakeholders at a dedication
event to officially “lift and drop the new gates” to allow water to return to
Sunset Lake and the Raceway. The event will take place at the Sunset Lake
Amphitheater on Monday, June 1st at 11:00am.
While Kelly anticipates
that it may take several weeks for the lake and the Raceway to fill with water
completely and perhaps a couple of years after that for the lake to reclaim its
balance against the vegetation now on the lakebed, he’s looking forward to future
seasons of children swimming, people fishing, and the scenic view that the lake
provides.
“The Raceway is part of
our history; which is something we don’t always appreciate until it’s gone. To
get that piece of our history back, to know that people can enjoy the lake and
the Raceway for many seasons to come is a beautiful thing and something that
doesn’t happen every day,” Kelly said.
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