WILLOW GROVE ROAD
TO REOPEN
(
SALEM , NJ )—Salem County
Public Information Officer Robin
Weinstein today announced that
Willow Grove Road in
Pittsgrove Township , New Jersey
is expected to be reopened by
Monday.
“The
Salem County Engineering Department,
along with our consultants, have
determined that the sink hole which
appeared late last week was caused
by scour damage in the causeway
under the road,” said Weinstein.
“The roadway will be repaired
throughout the weekend with the aim
of opening the road for the Monday
morning commute.”
Salem
County has issued an emergency
contract with R.E. Pierson to fix
the roadway which was closed after
State inspectors suspected that a
structural failure of the Willow
Grove Dam may have directly
contributed to the formation of a
large sink hole on Thursday,
February 1, 2007 . Additionally, an
emergency contract has also been
issued to W.J. Castle & Associates
who are performing the underwater
repairs.
“The
roadway was closed immediately to
ensure the public safety while the
County determined the cause of the
sinkhole,” said Weinstein. “Over the
past weekend the lake level was
lowered so that engineers could
identify the problem. On late
afternoon on Monday the water was at
an acceptable level to assess the
problem. On Tuesday and Wednesday
the engineers examined the sink hole
and determined that the problem was
with the causeway with the on-site
State inspector in concurrence.
Accordingly, plans are underway to
repair the causeway and road and to
ensure that such a problem is not
likely to reoccur.”
Willow
Grove Road is expected to be
reopened on Monday morning.
