UNION, NJ — Last week’s storm caused plenty of flooding in the area. Union received 2.31 inches of rain, which delayed Union school openings by two hours the following day.
“This has happened before,” said Mary DiNardo, secretary of Washington Elementary School, regarding the two-hour delay. “A lot of the parents don’t like it. It impacts their work day.”
Though the storm was a major inconvenience, the township of Union’s Department of Public Works was well-prepared. The following afternoon, Director Joseph Graziano said, “Currently, everything is fine. There is no flooding.”
In addition to Springfield Avenue being flooded, the exit on Route 78 East in Maplewood, which leads to Union, was shut down. However, that is an issue for the state of New Jersey, not a local one.
“We had barricades across Valley Street,” Graziano said. “No cars were stuck. We worked directly with the police and fire departments. We were prepped for this storm. We were prepared.”
While there was a lot of rain, Graziano said the wind they were expecting did not come as predicted, even though gusts were high at times. The only damage was to one or two small trees, a couple of branches here and there, according to Graziano.
Union’s Department of Public Works’ sanitary system is out on a regular basis cleaning out basins. “Before the storm, we get everything ready,” Graziano said. “We had areas of surging manholes. A couple of parks were flooded. They drained it out pretty good.”
Reiterating that his team was well-prepared for the storm and ready for it, Graziano said, “One military truck with a generator; we were ready to roll!”
Graziano has been with the Union Department of Public Works for the past five months, but has worked 25 years in the system. He’s the former director of Public Works in Berkeley Heights and has worked as a project manager for Roy Kay Inc. in Freehold.
The mission statement of the Union Department of Public Works is that it is dedicated to providing the physical services and improvements that make the municipality a safer, cleaner and more attractive place to live. It maintains more than 650 streets, manages the township’s recycling program, maintains public facilities, maintains all public parks, manages and maintains public trees and enforces regulation and laws that affect the right of way and township ordinances.
“We take pride in what we do,” Graziano said.
For more information on the Union Department of Public Works, visit https://www.uniontownship.com/153/Public-Works.
Photo by David VanDeventer