CLOSTER, N.J.—Beginning Monday, Jan. 27, Blanch Avenue between Livingston Street and West Street, Closter—a 980-foot section of the road—will be closed to traffic through May as Rockland Electric continues installation of an underground transmission line, part of a two-year project to improve electric service reliability for 14,000 customers in 10 Northern Valley communities.
The road closures follow a recent nearly two-month shutdown of Broad Street in Norwood, which angered local business owners who criticized Rockland Electric officials for the untimely shutdown, lack of communication and claimed a major dropoff in sales during the year’s busiest retail season, from November through the holidays.
During a heated meeting in mid-December, Rockland Electric officials said the closures were necessary to upgrade the electrical transmission infrastructure and pledged to communicate better with local business owners.
Another local road detour occurred Jan. 13–16 when CSX Corp. repaired the railroad grade crossing on Broad Street at Broadway in Norwood, following repeated complaints by public officials, residents, and the police department for more than a year.
Blanch Avenue closure
Rockland Electric officials said the closed portions of Blanch Avenue contain no residential or commercial buildings, which should lessen potential impacts.
“Work adjacent to two bridges located on this section of Blanch Ave. requires the closing. The closed portion of Blanch Ave. has no residential or commercial buildings on it. Because of the road closing, some local Closter neighborhoods and businesses—along West Street and Herbert Avenue, for example—cannot be accessed from Norwood directly. They can be accessed from local Closter roads coming from the south,” said Rockland Electric officials in a statement released Jan. 22.
Both Norwood and Closter Police Departments had posted road closure alerts on Jan. 22 to Facebook pages to inform residents.
According to Rockland officials, detour signs will be posted to help manage the road closure, and officials released a map image outlining the road closure and detours. Officials said a truck route detour will be posted for Railroad Avenue access from Naugle Street.
Truck detour details
The truck detour from Railroad Avenue will be as follows: Railroad Avenue to Naugle Street, Naugle Street to Closter Dock Road, Closter Dock Road to Harrington Avenue, and Harrington Avenue to Livingston Street.
No through-truck access will be available on Van Sciver Street and West Street, officials said.
Residents and drivers with questions on detours or the project were directed to call Orange and Rockland’s Customer Assistance Department at (877) 434-4100.
Michael Donovan, a utility spokesman, said the overall project is designed to enhance electric service reliability, accommodate increased electric load growth and further protect the electric system from storms for approximately 14,000 Rockland Electric customers in 10 Northern Valley communities.
These include: Closter, Norwood, Old Tappan, Northvale, Cresskill, Demarest, Harrington Park, Alpine, Haworth and Rockleigh.
The underground transmission line is being installed within public roadways from Harings Corner substation in Old Tappan along Orangeburgh Road to Broadway to Broad Street to Blanch Avenue to West Street and will end on Michaels Lane at the Closter substation.
“The overall $28 million project, which began in 2018, also includes substantial upgrades for the Harings Corner and Closter substations, which are due for completion at the end of October 2020,” said Donovan.
Electric rates increase
In related news, the state Board of Public Utilities granted Rockland Electric a monthly rate increase of about 6 percent—effective Feb. 1—to pay for its investments in smart metering and electric grid upgrades such as a $28 million underground electric system improvement.
“To fund these proposed electric delivery initiatives, today’s rate order provides for an increase in overall revenues for electric delivery of $12 million or 5.6 percent. The bill for a typical residential customer using 925 killowatt hours (kWh) per month would increase by $10.08 or 6.1 percent per month from the current bill of $165.66 to $175.74,” said a Jan. 23 utility news release.
Rockland Electric, a subsidiary of Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., serves 74,000 customers in northern Bergen and Passaic counties, plus a small part of Sussex County. It is owned by Consolidated Edison, Inc.