HOBOKEN — On Tuesday March 7, crews working on the $7 million Washington Street water main upgrade installed the first sections of 12-inch pipe to replace the century-old water mains, according to a press release from the city.
As part of the $17.5 million Washington Street redesign project, all of the old water mains from Observer Highway to 15th Street will be replaced.
The city’s $7 million investment includes upgrading the 12 inch main on the west side, the three 8 inch main sections on the east side, and fire hydrants on Washington Street.
The project will also upgrade 531 service line connections to new valve boxes at the curb.
“It is important that the service lines be upgraded as well so that we can prevent having to dig up Washington Street after it is newly paved,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
The city is also currently working on a $5.2 million plan to upgrade water mains in other priority areas and has issued an RFP (request for proposals) for engineering design for this work.
“This investment will move Hoboken towards a more resilient and reliable water main system,” said Zimmer. “Beyond the initial $12 million investment in our water system that we are making, we are planning to make at least a $5 million investment every year in order to ensure Hoboken has a reliable system. Unfortunately, Hoboken is facing the result of financial mismanagement from the past together with a complete lack of investment in infrastructure going back decades. Now that we have resolved the city’s serious financial problems, we are in a strong position to continue making long-overdue and critically-needed annual investments while also keeping our taxes stable.”
Additional information on the Washington Street project is available at www.washingtonstreetproject.com.
