The Alternative Press

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Some parts of Glenview Road are in need of repair. At least that’s what the village of South Orange believes.

Plans to do road work along the long, winding passage between Hoskier Road and Mountain Drive took one step closer to becoming a reality late last month in the form of a grant application that would give the village $600,000 in grant money for safety improvements.

The application for the grant was filed through the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Local Aid program, which administers grants annually for repairs and improvements wherever necessary.

The program creates a pool of money that is made available to various New Jersey municipalities. After applying, the municipalities are granted the money based on the condition of the roads in question and what necessary measures must be taken to improve safety.

“The Village has been very successful with this grant program,” said Barry Lewis Jr., South Orange Village administrator, “most recently receiving a grant from the State Fiscal year 2011-2012 funding pool in the amount of $230,000 for our Turrell Avenue project, and $224,000 from the prior year for Fairview Avenue.”

Lewis added that the grants are “vitally important to the village” as they allow it to fund significant parts of key projects through sources other than tax dollars or borrowed money.

In the case of Glenview Road, the South Orange Village engineer recommended the stretch between Hoskier Road and Mountain Drive after his annual evaluation. He chose the road based on its condition and specifically due to the location of the South Mountain Annex on the road.

According to Lewis, all of the municipalities that apply for the grant, including South Orange, estimate a cost of the entire project and use that as their base number for the application. The New Jersey Department of Transportation typically awards the municipalities a grant amount lower than the number requested, meaning even though South orange applied for $600,000, it’s not guaranteed to be the amount they would receive.

Lewis said the village expects the outcome of the application to be decided late this year or possibly at the beginning of 2013. If the grant is awarded, Lewis said the funds would be included in the Capital Improvement Program for 2013 and construction would be undertaken in the summer and fall of 2013.

The reporter is participating in a hyperlocal journalism partnership between The Alternative Press and Seton Hall University's Department of Communication & The Arts.