Update #4
PSE&G Weekly Project Update – Week of April 22, 2024
A contractor of Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) will continue to mobilize equipment and personnel for the John Fitch Way Project and prepare the site for remediation. The Project site is located in the portion of the state-owned parking lot near the New Jersey Department of Labor Building and Division of Taxation Building and adjacent to the helicopter pad.
The current walkway to the Department of Labor Building will remain open until an alternative walkway can be established, currently anticipated to be May 15th.
Weekly updates are posted to the project website: https://jfitchwayproject.com/
Questions? Concerns? Call the Project Information Line at (855) 356-2383 or email us at comments@jfitchwayproject.com.
Anticipated Work to be Performed: April 22 – April 26
- Continue to mobilize equipment and personnel to the site, including office trailers and guard booth.
- Install temporary chain link fence around the work area. Continue to remove asphalt and perform soft dig (i.e. hand digging) to ensure new temporary fence posts are clear of underground utilities..
- Meet onsite with local emergency responders in accordance with the site’s Health and Safety Plan.
- Investigate underground electric for parking lot light poles.
- Install the temporary gravel pedestrian walkway west of the project site, along Market Street.
- Maintain soil erosion and sediment controls.
- Security guard posted 24/7.
Work Performed: April 15 – April 19
- Mobilized equipment and personnel to the site.
- Conducted Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey and soft dig to confirm mark-outs for utilities.
- Set up safety barriers.
- Installed erosion and sediment controls.
- Conducted additional sampling for classification and soil disposal purposes required by licensed facilities accepting the impacted soil.
- Saw cut the perimeter of the project site.
- Removed sections of asphalt and soft dig for fence installation.
- Moved temporary generators to work site to power the office trailers until such time the new temporary underground electric service can be connected..
- Security guard posted 24/7.
Community Outreach
- Issued third weekly update and posted it to the project website.
- Weekly updates emailed to: NJ Department of Treasury (which in turn distributed to the NJ State Department of Labor, Division of Taxation, Hughes Justice Complex, Office of the Governor); City of Trenton officials; Mercer County Officials; community and neighborhood organizations.
Background: The project will remediate impacts to soil from the operations of a former manufactured gas plant (MGP) operated by a predecessor company of PSE&G in Trenton from the late 1840s to late 1890s. Approximately 100,000 tons of MGP-impacted soil will be excavated. Any infrastructure related to the former MGP operations that remain underground also will be removed. Most of the work will be performed within a temporary sprung structure (i.e., tented enclosure). Excavated soil will be transported to a permitted off-site soil treatment and disposal facility. The excavated areas will be backfilled with certified clean fill and restored to the pre-existing conditions. Groundwater encountered during soil remediation activities will be treated and conveyed off site in accordance with permitting.
The project is anticipated to take approximately 18 months to complete. The first 12-16 weeks will focus on preparing the site for excavation. All work is being performed in cooperation with and under the oversight of the Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP), and in accordance with the requirements and guidance of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).