Metuchen’s Grove Avenue Bike Lanes Move A Step Closer To Reality

METUCHEN, NJ — Metuchen is taking bids for its long-planned bike lanes on Grove and Eggert avenues, bringing the borough closer to its first on-road bicycle facility.

Sealed bids for the Grove Avenue and Eggert Avenue Bicycle Lanes Project will be opened at 11 a.m. on Dec. 18 at the Municipal Building, 500 Main Street, according to a notice to bidders from Borough Clerk Deborah Zupan.

The project covers the 1.26-mile corridor of Grove and Eggert avenues and will add either dedicated bike lanes or shared lane markings, according to the notice. The contractor must finish all work within 120 calendar days.

Eggert Avenue starts at Amboy Avenue and becomes Grove Avenue at Woodbridge Avenue. The Metuchen portion of Grove Avenue ends just past Metuchen High School at the Edison border.

According to borough documents from the project’s public information sessions, Grove Ave will have the bike lanes. Due to the limited width of Eggert Street, cyclists there will share the travel lanes with cars, marked by shared lane markings. Storm drain grates at the corners of Eggert and Grove avenues and Woodbridge Avenue that are not safe for bicycles will be replaced with bicycle safe grates, the documents say.

The project is funded through a federal Transportation Alternatives Program grant administered by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The borough secured the grant in 2018, according to a presentation by the nonprofit Keep Middlesex Moving. In May, the council considered a resolution authorizing a federal aid agreement with the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Borough of Metuchen for the Grove Avenue bike lane.

According to the notice, the contract cannot be awarded until the borough has the necessary funds and has received the federal money.

In February, the council awarded a construction management and inspection contract for the project worth up to $86,130.56, according to borough records.

The borough has been working toward bike lanes on Grove Avenue for more than a decade. In 2015, it lowered the street’s speed limit from 35 mph to 25 mph to improve safety for pedestrians.

Earlier this year, Metuchen dropped plans for a bike lane on Hillside Avenue after residents objected. That lane would have connected the Grove Avenue route to the Metuchen train station.

Contractors can get copies of the contract documents, specifications and drawings from the borough clerk’s office during business hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by emailing dzupan@metuchen.com.

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