Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. Essex County Executive	Hall of Records ~ 465 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. Newark, New Jersey 07102 973.621.4400 973.621.6343 (fax) www.essexcountynj.org

Irvington, NJ - Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. that four intersections along Springfield Avenue in Irvington have been modernized with new traffic signal equipment to reduce motor vehicle accidents, enhance pedestrian safety and improve traffic flow in the downtown area of the township. The County Executive was joined at the ribbon cutting on Wednesday, May 23rd by Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith and Freeholder and Councilman D. Bilal Beasley.

"Springfield Avenue is a busy thoroughfare that travels through Irvington's downtown business district and provides vital access to the Garden State Parkway. It is important that our infrastructure is upgraded to meet the changing needs and demands of the community, and to ensure the safety of our pedestrians and motorists," DiVincenzo said. "These improvements will make it easier for our residents to go about their daily lives and help the local business district remain competitive," he added.

Upgrades were made at the following four intersections:

- Springfield Avenue and Stuyvesant Avenue
- Springfield Avenue and New Street
- Springfield Avenue and Washington Avenue
- Springfield Avenue and Sharon Avenue/Eastern Parkway

New traffic signal equipment and controllers were installed at each intersection and traffic signals were outfitted with Light Emitting Diodes (LED) lenses, which use 90 percent less energy than regular incandescent signals. To increase pedestrian safety, pedestrian crosswalk signals feature count down timers that tell pedestrians how many seconds remain before the light will change and some curbs were modified to reduce crossing distances. Accessibility at each intersection was enhanced by installing handicap ramps. To improve traffic safety, left turn only lanes were added and curbs were modified to improve traffic flow. In addition, each traffic signal was equipped with a battery backup that will enable the signal to operate for eight hours if power is disrupted.

"The strong partnership between the Township and the County got this job done. Things are happening in Irvington and the County Executive is supporting us in any way he can," Mayor Wayne Smith said. "Traffic and pedestrian safety along this busy corridor has been improved. This is a crossroads, so any improvements we make will benefit the safety of drivers and pedestrians," he added.

"There are so many people who travel Springfield Avenue, and having new traffic signals and turn lanes makes it a safer road to travel," Freeholder and Irvington Councilman Bilal Beasley said. "These improvements represent real progress for Irvington's downtown and brought our infrastructure into the 21st century," he added.

Greenman Pedersen Inc. of Newark was awarded a $175,901 contract to design the improvements and specifications for the project and Faigon Electric Inc. of Piscataway received a $791,399 contract to perform the construction work. The entire project - which included traffic analysis, design and construction - was completed in less than 16 months and the construction was finished in less than five months. Funding for the improvements was provided through a New Jersey Department of Transportation grant.

The Essex County Department of Public Works is designing a second project to upgrade three intersections and traffic signal equipment along three more intersections along Springfield Avenue. The intersections with Springfield Avenue are Civic Square/Lincoln Place, Sanford Avenue and Lyons Avenue. In addition, the County and Irvington have entered into a partnership on a third project to modernize two more intersections along Springfield Avenue with Clinton Avenue and Grove Street. The Township received a Pedestrian Safety Grant from the NJ Department of Transportation to fund the third project.

Other capital improvement projects recently completed by Essex County in Irvington include the $3 million repaving and reconstruction of the entire length of Stuyvesant Avenue in 2004 and the $718,614 reconstruction of the Madison Avenue Bridge in 2005. Both of these projects were funded with grants from the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and the New Jersey Department of Transportation. In addition, the Essex County Department of Public Works conducted "short term improvements" to the traffic signal equipment at the intersections of Springfield Avenue and Clinton Avenue and Springfield Avenue and Civic Square in September 2005.

Recently completed Essex County intersection projects include the modernization of traffic signals at three intersections along Bloomfield Avenue in Glen Ridge, the reconfiguration of the Belleville Avenue Extension/Highland Avenue intersection in Glen Ridge, installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Passaic Avenue and Terrace Place/Dillon Road in West Caldwell, reconfiguration and upgrade to the traffic signals and intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Pompton Avenue and Bloomfield Avenue and Sunset Avenue in Verona; traffic signal and roadway improvements at four intersections along Bloomfield Avenue in West Caldwell; traffic signal improvements in two areas along Livingston Avenue in Livingston; installation of a new traffic signal on Broadway in Newark; and installation of blinking signals on Mount Pleasant Avenue in West Orange.

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