Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. made a ‘massive’ announcement about street paving
The city is throwing a party for Atlantic Avenue.
ATLANTIC CITY — Only in Atlantic City, a town with hype in its original DNA and, more recently, a teeth-grindingly bumpy main artery through town, would the announcement of street paving be billed as “massive.”
But the long-awaited paving of Atlantic Avenue is set to begin at 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, Mayor Marty Small Sr. announced Thursday. It will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by a celebration with food and music at Florida Avenue before contractors from South State begin.
Small and City Engineer Uzoma Ahiarakwe were positively giddy with the news that the much-maligned roughness of the city’s main arteries would finally be addressed. Pacific Avenue will be paved, too, they said.
“We’re really happy that we’re getting this done, and I just thank the residents and everyone for their patience and even the critics,” Small said. “We deserve to be criticized, and I told you from the bottom of my heart, I wholeheartedly apologize.”
Small added that the traffic lights will soon be synchronized. The Democratic mayor credited the intervention of U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican with a close relationship to President Donald Trump, with wresting some stalled federal funding for the project.
The stretch from Tennessee to Maine Avenue will include a road diet and new bike lanes. There will be new lighting. Also slated for paving: Fairmont Avenue from Missouri to the Albany Avenue Bridge.
“The Small administration is paving and behaving,” Small said. “So you’re not going to talk about Atlantic Avenue anymore. You’re not going to talk about Pacific Avenue anymore. Let’s pick a new topic.”
He added, “In all seriousness, I’m proud, and like I told the people of Atlantic City, I live here too, and it was unacceptable.”
Atlantic Avenue’s paving will take place at night, while Pacific Avenue will be paved during the day, he said. The work on Atlantic is expected to be completed in time for the city’s Christmas Parade on Dec. 12, with all the work expected to be completed by year’s end.
