Cumberland County Announces Schedule for Willow Grove Lake Project
Cumberland County officials have released a timeline for the county’s portion of the Willow Grove Lake dam reconstruction.
Water levels in the lake – located on the border of Vineland in Cumberland County and Pittsgrove Township in Salem County -- have been substantially lowered since 2007, when the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) ordered both counties to bring the dam into compliance with the Dam Safety Act. The structure was damaged further in 2011 as a result of Hurricane Irene.
The reconstruction process will begin next week with official advertisements for contractor bids. A contract will be awarded at the end of August and construction is expected to get underway by October 1st. Under the contract, work is to be completed by March 30th, 2015.
“We’re eager to get this construction started,” said Freeholder Tony Surace, liaison to the Cumberland County Public Works Department. “We’ve been diligently working on completing our portion of the project, even in the face of legal and other obstacles that have slowed things down.”
The schedule announced by the county meets the criteria outlined by the state Department of Transportation that a contractor must be awarded the project prior to August 28th.
• Federal project advertisement: July 23, July 30, August 6
• Questions due: August 8
• Addendum (if needed): August 11
• Bid opening: August 29
• Project award: September 3, 2014
• Preconstruction Meeting: September 22
• Notice to Proceed: October 1
• 180 days for substantial completion: March 30, 2015