A stretch of Red Bank’s Monmouth Street, which was closed Wednesday evening for a sewer repair job, is open again today. But borough officials plan to shut it again Friday for further work.
Public utilities acting director Gary Watson tells redbankgreen that the collapse of a manhole opposite the Dublin House Pub could result in the street being closed between Broad Street and Drummond Place for up to half a day.
The timing of the shutdown all depends on a contractor’s ability to quickly obtain a precast manhole liner, Watson says.
At issue is one element of Red Bank’s century-old underground infrastructure. Watson said borough employees noticed a depression around the manhole recently, and upon opening it found that the red brick walls inside were collapsing. They scheduled repairs, he said.
Yesterday morning’s downpour, however, hastened the collapse. A crew working late yesterday afternoon shut down the blocklong stretch of street and made the area secure, Waton said, reopening the street at about 6:30p.
Watson said he is mindful that downtown businesses will be impacted by a street closure at a key time of year, but that he will go ahead with an immediate repair job as soon as the replacement part arrives, even if that’s Saturday or Sunday, when more shoppers are expected to be out.
“I’m going to do it as soon as possible,” he said. “From where I’m sitting, this is urgent.”
The same stretch of Monmouth Street was closed for a few hours in January, 2008 when a hydrant replacement job resulted in a busted water line.
