Library Entrance Closed for ADA Work

The entrance on the side of the parking lot is closed, but the one on the Glen Avenue side is open.

If you're going to the Millburn Public Library, prepare to use a different entrance. The entrance closest to the rear parking lot has been closed so workers can complete American Disabilities Act improvements to it. The entrance on the Glen Avenue side of the building remains open. The main driveway also is closed because people will need to walk there to make it to the entrance that is open. People can still access the library, though, through the adjacent commuter parking lot entrance. The work at the library will improve the sidewalk and the curbing to fit with ADA requirements. The project is funded mainly by an Essex County Community Development Block Grant. It's similar work that was done at Glenwood Elementary School a year ago to …

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Lack of Union Labor Protested at Synagogue

Union members say they want one Millburn member to work on the job.

Just a day after Labor Day, members of a local union group were protesting in front of Congregation B'nai Israel on Tuesday. Members of Labors Local 1153, part of Labors Eastern Region, were there to protest the contractor's lack of union labor on the project to expand the synagogue. Tuesday's protest included a large, inflatable rat and about 30 protestors, who were at the site in the morning. Radams Acevedo, a union organizer, said about 90 of the union's 600 members live in town, and they were aiming to have one member working on the job. The contractor, John's Construction, however, has refused, he said. Jeremy Delgado, a union organizer, said there are several union members living in Millburn whoa re out of work. "We want to work …

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Trader Joe's-PetSmart Construction Begins

Crews are out at the old Whole Foods building on Millburn Avenue.

Construction crews have geared up and started work at the old Whole Foods building on Millburn Avenue. The work will make way for Trader Joe's and PetSmart, which gained approvals from the Planning Board last May. Trader Joe's is targeted to open this fall, and PetSmart is expected to open in early 2010.

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Constructing Teddy's Garage

Workers busy on the new restaurant due for September

Workers are busy converting a garage downtown into what will be a restaurant this fall. Slated to open in September, Teddy's Garage at 257 Essex St. will be run by Teddy Stampoulos, Martini Bistro & Bar proprietor. The restaurant will serve hamburgers, hot dogs, milk shakes and similar fare. The intent is to serve the needs of the town's middle and high school students who walk through downtown Millburn. The plan for the project was approved last September. Included in work recently has been the construction of new utility connections to the property, which has closed a lane of traffic on Essex Street.

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Old Short Hills Park To Be Closed

Will be shut down for sanitary sewer construction

If you're planning to head to Old Short Hills Park on July 6, you may want to pick another day. The park will be closed on or about July 6 for the construction of a sanitary sewer. The new sewer will serve the Greenwood Garden Complex, which is inside the park. The construction, which will affect the park driveway and the parking lot, will last about one week and will depend on the weather. The park will re-open when the construction is complete.

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Jennifer Connic

12:42 pm on Monday, June 29, 2009

Thanks, Mark.   more ›

No More Leaks: Workers Fixing Library Roof

Project cost $152,000 to fix holes

The smell of tar is in the air around the Millburn Public Library while workers repair its roof. The project to replace the library's roof should be completed in the next few weeks, and is costing $152,000. Safeway Contracting is doing the work. Township Administrator Tim Gordon said the roof has had leak problems for some time, and a patch repair a year ago did not fix the issues. "It wasn't stopping the problems, so we decided we needed to do the whole roof," he said.

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Record: Route 78-GSP Interchange Work in Progress

Missing ramps being added

The work to add the missing ramps between Route 78 and the Garden State Parkway will start being completed this fall, according to a report in The Record. The work to connect the northbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway to Route 78 West is expected to be completed this fall, according to the article. The flyover ramp has been erected and the concrete decks are being poured, according to the report. The work to connect the southbound lanes of the parkway with Route 78 East, which leads to Newark International Airport, will be completed by 2011, according to the report. The project costs more than $160 million in federal and state funding, including $70.8 million from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates the parkway, …

Fixing the Main Street Sidewalk

Workers making the sidewalk more level on Main Street

Workers were laying new concrete along Main Street on Wednesday for a new sidewalk in front of Bungalow, Rock'N Joe and MS Gourmet. The work started on Tuesday when crews removed the existing sidewalk. The businesses remained open, although visitors had to walk along a wooden plank to gain entry. The sidewalk in the area had been slanted.

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Pedestrian Bridge to Open Soon

Bridge linking middle school and library athletics fields replaced

Millburn Middle School students and Paper Mill Playhouse fans are familiar with a bridge linking the two sides of the river on a path behind the library. The pedestrian bridge was used often by middle school students walking between school and the library. Paper Mill Playhouse visitors also would walk from the train station to the theater via the bridge. It also connected the two athletic fields—one across the street from the middle school and one behind the library. But the bridge was old and rickety, and now workers are putting the final touches on replacing it. Martha Annoni, assistant town engineer, said the bridge was old and dangerous, which is why it's being replaced. It also wasn't very pretty, she said. "It was kind of an eyesore…

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Ribbon Cut at Millburn High School

Construction on new wing complete

School officials cut the ribbon on the new wing of classrooms at the Millburn High School Monday night. Construction on the three-floor expansion—which includes general classrooms, science laboratories and art rooms—is complete, but classes won't take place in the wing until the fall. Advance Placement testing could take place in the wing this spring. The expanded cafeteria will be available to students next week. The project at the high school cost $7.6 million. School officials cut the ribbon on the Millburn Middle School expansion earlier on Monday.

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