Fix delayed

Mother Nature helped create a serious erosion danger for two Heather Lane homes and is now delaying an envisioned short-term fix to the problem.

The Middlesex Borough Council and staff members gave a brief status report at the Tuesday, Jan. 23 meeting of a plan to mitigate the erosion. The project involves the installation of large, cement, rebar-enforced blocks along the stream bank that rims the two endangered properties on the Green Brook border. Without the work, the situation threatens to drop the residences into the adjacent stream.

Recent wet weather and lack of a lengthy freeze are hindering an effort to get heavy equipment in place to install the blocks. Last month, officials said they hoped to get the project started in late January.

“The weather has not been cooperating,” said Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk.

“It’s too wet,” added Department of Public Works Superintendent Len Vidal. “It was only frozen for a couple of days.”

While the effort to temporarily fortify the stream bank has been delayed, officials said a funding application has been filed with the state’s Resilient Communities Program.

The borough is seeking a grant of up to $5 million to provide a long-term solution to the erosion that could also endanger homes on nearby Holly Court in the future.

State Sen. Jon Bramnick, who represents Middlesex in the State Legislature, has written a letter in support of the application. Bramnick’s letter called the erosion an “Imminent threat” to the homes along the stream.

Owners of the endangered homes and Middlesex officials contend that a pumping station and flood wall built as part of the Green Brook Flood Risk Management Project helped create the erosion threat.

During an October Zoom call with Middlesex officials, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives disagreed that the flood control project had caused the erosion. Army Corps reps asserted that the problem would have occurred even if the flood risk project had not occurred.

Borough officials are seeking the Resilient Communities grant to supply a permanent solution that has not been forthcoming from the federal and state governments.

Reminder

Subscribe to Inside – Middlesex. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. It is absolutely free.