Camden begins long-overdue roadwork on city streets
CAMDEN, N.J. - Camden city streets are in bad shape and leaders are starting emergency road repairs, using a half a million dollars in city money to get the roadwork done.
Waleska Cruz is proud of her Camden home, on the corner of 10th and Cedar Streets, fully adorned for Halloween. But, the road in front of her home is another story.
Cedar Street is pitted and bumpy and has been that way for all of the 11 years the mother of three has lived there.
MORE HEADLINES:
- New Jersey sports betting has its first $1 billion month
- Fundraiser held for New Jersey community still impacted by powerful EF-3 tornado
- New Jersey's COVID-19 mandate for teachers, staff takes effect Monday
Not far away, along North 6th Street, from York to Erie, it’s the very same story. The street is uneven and shows signs of constant patching. Vehicles move along the road with caution, and a young couple repairing a multi-story apartment to flip, hope road repairs are coming soon.
Camden’s mayor says the work has begun. With a half million dollars in city money and help from the county, Camden will gut and repave sections of 13 streets in the struggling city of 74,000 residents. City leaders hope to repair another 13 streets in the spring.
It’s clearly a drop in the bucket for the city of nine square miles, but the mayor argued he’s acting on many requests from residents.
"We’re walking the talk. We’ve been talking about it. We’re going to get out there on these 13 streets and get after it," Mayor Vic Carstarphen stated.
Mayor Carstarphen was joined Tuesday by members of Camden’s city council and the region’s U.S. representative, Donald Norcross, who boldly predicted Joe Biden’s roads and bridges plan will pass, making more money available for street repairs.
Many in Camden believe its roads haven’t been touched for many years making the fresh asphalt on city streets feel almost historic.
___
DOWNLOAD: FOX 29 NEWS APP | FOX 29 WEATHER AUTHORITY APP
SUBSCRIBE: Good Day Digest Newsletter | FOX 29 Philly on YouTube