Wygant Rd. residents' petition hits rocky road

UPPER FREEHOLD- The skyrocketing cost of oil has affected the price of asphalt, which may mean that a stretch of Wygant Road remains unpaved.

Wygant Road resident Tony Pecoraro appeared before the governing body two and a half years ago with a petition, signed by every qualified resident on the road, asking the township to pave the road. The only resident opposed to the paving was Dianne Kelly, the township's chief financial officer, he said.

Pecoraro attended the June 5 Township Committee meeting and said the township improved the road by putting down gravel, but he would like to know when it would be paved. He said that after every heavy rainfall, the Department of Public Works (DPW) has to use a grader on the road for maintenance.

"Isn't itmore economical to pave 2/10 of amile?" Pecoraro asked. "It's the size ofmy driveway."

Former Mayor William Miscoski, who was in the audience at the meeting, commented that the town has several dirt roads and Pecoraro seems to be under the impression thatWygant Road is the only one.

Deputy Mayor Bob Faber recalled that the governing body previously told Pecoraro that "something like asphalt" would be put on the road, and that the "something" should have been quarry dust. Quarry dust would be finer and smoother than the stone the township put down, he said.

Committeeman Stanley Moslowski Jr. said the road is holding up.

"We can look and see if we can do another couple of hundred feet each year," he said, noting that asphalt now costs $52 a ton.

Township Administrator Barbara Bascomsaid the township had at one time contracted for work onWygant Road and some other township roads.However, she said, at that time residents petitioned against pavingWygant Road. By the time Pecoraro came forward with the second petition, the cost of bringing a contractor in for that job alone became too costly, she said.