Crews Install Retaining Wall at Edgemont Park

Crews working at Edgemont Park began installing the retaining wall in the pond late last week. 

On Monday, crews could be seen placing double stacking large grey-colored blocks around the edge of the pond. This base portion of the wall will be different from the slate gray upper portion, according to the township. Construction of the wall will continue in sections. 

The installation of the wall follows the dredging of the pond, which began in early March. The dredging will make the the pond deeper and is expected to remove sediment clouding the waters. The council  project in January. 

Dredged dirt from the pond was also piled in the north end of the park. 

The township released a statement on its website regarding the dredged material being stockpiled in the park.

Sample tests have been performed on two occasions prior to bidding and the finding was this material is 'contaminated;' as it contains the dirt, grit, oils and other materials present in roadway runoff. Specifically, the results for several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a subset of base neutrals (BN) exceeded Residential Direct Contact (RDC) and the Non-Residential Direct Contract (NRDC) Soil Remediation Standards (SRS). the sediment must be handled as contaminated material and not clean fill. The bottom line is that the contractor handling all materials in accordance with the specifications and NJDEP permits.

The park's walkways and baseball fields are open to the public during construction.