ACE Project to Close Part of Middle’s Bike Path

COURT HOUSE – The Power Ahead Project is a $77-million Atlantic City Electric (ACE) infrastructure improvement project approved by the Board of Public Utilities in June 2017.
A piece of that overall project will occur in Middle Township in 2019, valued at $4.5 million. The project will result in closing a portion of the township bike path during the prime months of the summer.
The five-year ACE project is intended to increase modernization of the electric grid and make the state’s electric system more resilient to storm damage.
At the March 18 Middle Township Committee work session, ACE officials presented the three-stage effort that would take place in 2019. The overall project was broken into three components because the areas where the work must be done are impacted by different environmental restrictions which limit the time of year when ACE can engage in project improvements.
One aspect of the project, scheduled for June through early September, involves overhead wire work that runs along the bike path from Hand Avenue to Indian Trail Road. That work would require the closure of that portion of the bike path.
Mayor Timothy Donohue said the township and ACE explored possible ways to keep the bike path open on weekends but found that the dangers to public safety were too great. “We decided that we had to bite the bullet, close the bike path and try to get this thing done as soon as possible,” Donohue said.
Donohue held out the hope that the project could finish early if weather cooperates. “Maybe we can salvage a couple of weeks in August,” he said.
The bike path is an increasingly popular amenity running from Lower Township to the Cape May County Zoo. The recent connection to Lower Township’s bike path is set to be matched by a push of the bike path north from the County Park Zoo area to connections with Dennis and Upper townships.
Having to close the bike path during the busy tourist season was something township officials were unhappy about, but Donohue thanked ACE officials for the investment the company was making in the township. 
Improving the resiliency of the municipality’s power supply and taking advantage of the added capacity from the new substation in Rio Grande is “important work,” the mayor added.
Donohue pointed out that much of the bike path makes use of the utility’s right of way. “We have to expect there will be times like this,” he said.
The utility promised appropriate signage to warn bike-path users during the close-down period.
Other aspects of the project would bring redundant power feeds to the Court House substation; strengthen the infrastructure along North Wildwood Boulevard; and add capability to the infrastructure that will make reconfiguration faster, leading to quicker recovery from outages.  Portions of the project will continue until November with work areas opened and closed based on environmental restriction dates.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.