A combination of a heavy morning rain storm, the incoming high tide, and water logged ground cause a number of flooding problems in and around Bogota. Very soon after the Spring storm came over Northern New Jesey the usually roads were closed due to flooding. W. Ft.Lee between River Rd and the Hackensack River, and River Rd at Elm Ave both became impassable with water. Members of Bogota Rescue Squad #46 were need to remove people trapped in vehicles trapped in the high water. This happened after the Bogota Police Dept. placed barriers blocking off traffic and issued warnings to the public. At its highest point flood water reach the Outwater Plastic parking lot and the intersection of Elm and Larch Aves.
Constantly needed to be closed due to flooding both area are scheduled for improvement. At the 16-March Bogota Borough Council meeting, a permit was signed to allow for the contractor working for Bergen County to move a sewer line that cross under the creek at River rd. This was needed in order to allow for the refurbishing the culvert at River Rd and Elm Ave. The county plan is to enlarge the culvert by replacing the bridge current running over the creek. This work is excepted to take six to 12 months to complete, and will not be started for some time. Even after the culvert is replaced a representative from the County Engineer said the this reconstruction would not fully prevent more flooding in the future.
The other problem is W. Ft. Lee rd that borders the planned River Club Project. Here the water reached to the truck entrance of Jescraft, and into the parking lot of 299 W. Ft. Lee rd. The developers of this site, plans include raising the ground level to be above the flood plain for the entire site. Presently much of the northern area of the site is at grade with W.Ft.Lee rd., the raise in elevation would greatly reduce the amount of times the River Club property will be subjected to flooding. However W. Ft.Lee would continue to be in danger of flooding from condition like similar to Monday's weather event. Before the Ryan Bridge was closed for re-construction newer drainage lines and sewer grates were installed. These may have helped with the flow of standing water are still ineffectual when water from the Hackensack River rises above flood stage. The drainage lines brings the water onto W.Ft. Lee and does not receded until well after a storm, and high tide have past. As part of the River Club design a additional entrance is located near the Railroad tracks for service vehicle this can also be use by any Emergency vehicles needing access to the development. At this time it is not know if residents will be granted use of this entrance due to W.Ft. Lee rd becoming flooded.
Another problem area of Bogota is Olsen Park. While much of the park is not directly affected by flood waters, some areas still forms pools of water in heavy rains. The softball,
little league field, and area around the picnic shelter had standing water that will need time to dry out. Left field on the Men's Baseball Diamond however is regular effect by flood water coming from the drainage ditch that leads to the Hackensack River. This problem and some of the issues with W. Ft. Lee rd could also be lessen if the river was dredge on at regular basis. It has been many years since this was done and with out dredging the river has been allowed to accumulate more silt in it making it easier for the water to over flow its banks.
While all these problems are the most visible, the ground has been eroding near some areas the water, which may also become a problem. The stream along Elm Ave is removing the soil and starting to under cut the concert. A drainage pipe along River Road near Munn Ave and the Garden Apartments has broken off and now does not reach the land near the railroad tracks. This to is starting to remove the soil that is under River rd. The need for infrastructure repairs is always a concern for local government. But so is the need for funding which comes from tax dollars. Projects like the River Club and redevelopment of the the old " Slipper Factory" at the base of Cross st are two project that may help the tax burden for the residents of Bogota. One is in the design stage and is trying to address the problems attached to it. The other is a future project that can hopefully learn from the present and bring growth and sensible planning to solve the problems instead of making them worse.
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River Rd. at Elm Ave
W. Ft. Lee Rd
Olsen Park
At the base of Cross St
Under River Rd near Munn Ave.
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please contribute at: donate to Bogota Blog NJ )
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