Home Care In Farmingdale, NJ

Chesapeake & Delaware LLC (C&D) wholly owned subsidiary Delaware & Raritan River Railroad (DRR) has completed the Freehold & Southern Connection, a five-mile track rehabilitation project reconnecting, after nearly 40 years, Freehold and Farmingdale, N.J., through Howell Twp. A final-spike ceremony took place on Oct. 13 in Farmingdale.

Completed nine months ahead of schedule and under budget, the F&S Connection (formally, the Conrail Shared Assets Freehold Industrial Track, which NJ Transit owns) links the Railroad’s Freehold and Southern branches in Monmouth County, N.J. Started in January 2023, the $12 million project included 25,000 track-feet of relayed rail and 12,500 new crossties, more than 8,000 of which are environmentally sustainable Narstco steel ties; vegetation clearing; and six upgraded grade crossings.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation Rail Freight Assistance Program and the State’s grade crossing improvement fund helped pay for the project, which, in addition to the five miles of track, included rebuilding of the northern leg of the Farmingdale Wye, the connection to the Conrail Red Bank-Lakewood Southern Branch (which NJT also owns), a former Central Railroad of New Jersey line best known as the route of the famous Jersey City-Atlantic City Blue Comet luxury passenger express train. Accessorial work to be completed will include rebuilding the Farmingdale Wye’s south leg, siding construction and rehabilitation, and grade crossing improvements in Freehold, Howell and Shrewsbury, N.J.

Tracks Unlimited LLC of Mountainside, N.J., and Railroad Construction Co. of Paterson, N.J., provided materials, equipment, administration, design assistance, and agreement labor to rebuild the tracks and crossings.

In addition to linking the DRR’s separate branches into one network, the project reroutes freight trains off New Jersey Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL), opens the Southern branch for heavier 286K railcars, consolidates interchange with Conrail at Jamesburg, and provides a shorter and faster route to rail customers in Monmouth and Ocean counties. In addition to network efficiencies, the rebuilt railroad is expected to attract new rail customers and reduce local truck traffic. DRR operated a test train over the rebuilt track on Sept. 15, marking the first train to run through between Freehold and Farmingdale since 1985. Regular train service on the line ended with the Penn Central in 1975.

DRR leases and operates 50 miles of freight trackage in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties from Conrail and NJ Transit. Via Conrail, it interchanges with CSX and Norfolk Southern and connects local customers to the North American rail network. Chesapeake & Delaware, formed in 2017, operates 208 route-miles of railroad in New Jersey, serving short line freight customers in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic and Warren Counties. Its wholly owned subsidiaries include DRR, the Dover & Delaware River (DD) and Dover & Rockaway River (DRRV) Rai, and affiliates Belvidere & Delaware River (BDRV), Black River & Western (BRW) and Maryland & Delaware Railroad (MDDE)

There’s a lot of railroad history behind the DRR. The Freehold Branch, built in 1851 by the Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad, connected the Camden & Amboy Railroad—New Jersey’s first railroad—with Sea Girt, on what is now the NJT NJCL. In 1871 it became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. The right-of-way from Sea Girt to Farmingdale is now a biking and walking trail. DRR’s Southern Branch was built by the Raritan & Delaware Bay Railroad Company and completed to Lakewood in 1860. It became the Southern Main of the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1879. Today, with a branch into Toms River, the line is out of service between Lakehurst and Winslow Junction on NJT’s Atlantic City Line.

C&D President Kean Burenga called the Freehold & Southern Connection “a great public/private project, with benefits to the community, customers and railroads alike.”

“With safer and more direct infrastructure in place, we look forward to working with new and existing customers to grow rail traffic on the Delaware & Raritan,” C&D Executive Vice President Cathrin Banks said. Banks oversees the company’s business development efforts. She is a partner in the firm and previously filled the role of Vice President & General Counsel. Banks is also President of affiliate MDDE.

Tracks Unlimited General Manager Andy Creteau added that the rebuilt connection “is great for commerce and the economy.”

Opening of the F&S Connection closely followed the appointment of Sean Dolan as Vice President & General Manager of Railroads. Dolan joined C&D after retiring from a 32-year career at New Jersey Transit, where he held numerous transportation roles and was most recently Deputy General Manger, responsible for all train operations on the Newark and Hoboken Divisions.

This issue is no barrel of laughs.

A toxic cleanup in a New Jersey community could be a ticking timebomb, and may force families to leave their homes. Schools and homeowners in one part of Monmouth County are being told to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice, as crews with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are intensely working at a former industrial plant.

More specifically, they want to know what's in a collection of barrels at a site in Farmingdale near the border with Howell.

The plant has long been shut down, but the barrels stuck around. Now it's not clear how safe it is to move them.

In the weeks ahead, the sounds of heavy-duty construction vehicles will permeate the air at the former chemical plant, along with smells from more than 400 rusting, abandoned drums. For decades, chemicals were mixed for various customers at the site.

One nearby resident told NBC New York that she remembers decades ago when her children were coming home from school around lunchtime, and they saw the lids exploding, up in the air.

That kind of thing is still entirely possible at the site, because no one knows for sure what chemicals are still present.

Earlier in 2023, the new owner was burning some barrels in an old incinerator on the property, when the fumes and particulate pollution drifted into nearby neighborhoods, alarming first responders who rushed to put the fire out.

The EPA rushed in with an emergency removal team, which is now well into the first stage of testing and segregating the chemicals very deliberately and carefully, one barrel at a time.

When Eric Daly, the on-scene coordinator for the EPA, was asked about those exploding lids 40 years ago, he said "You’re basically proving the reason we’re taking our time with this."

Its not just the stacks of corroding barrels the EPA has to sort through before they can be removed and disposed. There are more than 1,000 small containers — again filled with unknown chemicals — that have to be tested one by one to find out what is in each, how dangerous it could be and what’s the best way to dispose of them.

With some 4,000 students going to school within the one-mile hot zone that reaches into Howell, residents are urged to have a go-pack for an evacuation that could be called at any time if the chemicals catch on fire.

"Everybody should have an evacuation plan or get-out-of-here plan just in case," said Howell-Farmingdale OEM Director Victor Cook.

That being said, the EPA does feel it has the situation under as much control as it can without knowing what’s on the site. The agency hopes everything can be hauled away by the end of summer or shortly thereafter. Then it will have to deal with whatever pollution it finds in the soil and possibly in the groundwater.

HOWELL, NJ — Howell is a big township, and now getting a Jersey Mike's sub will be even more convenient for residents.

A third Jersey Mike’s Subs is opening in town, this one at 1175 Route 33 in the Farmingdale section on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

Jersey Mike's is among the businesses opening at the new retail center at the corner of Route 33 and Colts Neck Road, including a Dollar General.

And sub-lovers should be on the lookout for a special coupon handout to get a sub for a donation to a local charity.

Store operator Mike Regec and team will hold a grand opening and fundraiser from Wednesday, Nov. 1, to Sunday, Nov. 5, to support Howell High School, Farmingdale Elementary School and the Optimists Club of Howell, the company says.

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Customers who receive a special fundraising coupon distributed through a grassroots push before the opening can make a minimum $2 contribution to one of those organizations in exchange for a regular sub. Customers must have a coupon to be eligible, the store says.

“We are very excited to partner with Howell High School, Farmingdale Elementary, and Optimists Club of Howell during our grand opening,” said Regec.

A second Jersey Mike's location opened on Route 9 in September. You can read about that store here.

Guests can place orders in-store or for pickup through the website or through the Jersey Mike’s app. Additionally, delivery is available in most areas through the Jersey Mike’s app or through third-party delivery partners. Curbside pickup is available for orders placed in Jersey Mike’s app.

You can contact this new Route 33 location directly at 732-751-4280.

Fundraising is a major component of the Jersey Mike’s philosophy.

Since 2010, Jersey Mike’s locations throughout the country have raised more than $110 million for local charities. In 2023, the company’s 13th annual Jersey Mike’s Month of Giving in March raised $21 million for more than 200 local charities, the company says.

Jersey Mike’s Subs has more than 2,500 locations nationwide, and it all started with a store in Point Pleasant in 1956. Because of its location at the Jersey Shore, its popularity spread.

And in the Seventies, Peter Cancro, then a 17-year-old high school senior who had worked for Mike’s Subs since he was 14 and loved the business, bought the operation with the help of his football coach who was also a banker, the company history says. In 1987, Cancro started his franchises and the successful company is still locally based, in Manasquan.

For more information, you can visit jerseymikes.com or follow Jersey Mike's on Facebook and other social media platforms.

HOWELL, NJ — The EPA is assuring residents here and in Farmingdale that "there has not been, nor is there currently a need for evacuations" as a result of its cleanup of a Marl Road toxic cleanup site, according to its weekly online update.

And it says the federal Environmental Protection Agency is making "significant progress" in categorizing the materials found in the 200-300 drums and hundreds of small bottles and paint cans and other containers at the former Compounders Inc. site at 15 Marl Road.

The EPA has been at the site since early April and is now "assessing and addressing" the drums and containers of potentially hazardous materials found at the former Compounders Inc. manufacturing site, the agency said in a weekly update.

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This "HAZ-CAT" categorization is a necessary first step in determining what licensed disposal facility the drums and other material will go to, he said. He said the EPA has many sites it can remove the material to.

He said the evacuation plan put out by Howell Township's Office of Emergency Management early in March is "good to have," but he said it should not be necessary to implement.

On April 17, the EPA said the removal and stabilization of 200 to 300 deteriorating 55-gallon drums containing chemicals at the industrial plant has reduced - but not eliminated - the risk of a fire or evacuation, according to that weekly update.

Air monitors have also been placed at two locations outside of the property to monitor stable air quality. Read more: Air Monitors Now Up At Marl Road Chemical Cleanup Site In Howell

Victor Cook, the coordinator of the Howell Office of Emergency Management, originally put out an evacuation map showing a half-mile and a one-mile radius from Compounders Inc., but residents have been asking for more specifics about the plan.

He has said it was a precautionary plan. He said Monday he "feels confident" the site is secure. He also posted a notice to residents on the Howell Facebook site that any rumors about a need for an evacuation based on social media comments or other news sources were inaccurate.

Residents can sign up for the Howell Township emergency notification system on its website, he said.

EPA is working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Monmouth County Health Department, Howell Township, and other "stakeholders" a part of the cleanup plan, the agency says.

Shortly after being asked to address the site, EPA fenced it and provided 24-hour security. EPA began cleanup actions at the site right after it obtained access from the site owner in early April.

Here is a rundown of the work going on as of April 24:

The agency says it will continue its work until all the materials at the site have been assessed and secured to be taken away.

Background on 15 Marl Road

Howell Township firefighters were dispatched to 15 Marl Road to perform an investigation after calls reporting smoke in the area on Feb. 9. Upon arriving, there was an ongoing burning of materials inside of an old still in which a door had been cut. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire.

Upon seeing the condition of the site, firefighters called for Howell Township Office of Emergency Response. After seeing the numerous drums and smelling a chemical odor, Howell emergency officials requested Monmouth County Department of Health for a potential hazardous materials response.

Upon arrival, the county health department began an investigation of the area, discovering the large quantities of 55-gallon drums, along with smaller quantities of various other containers around the site.

There were "many spills along the ground, open drums, and drums present in the old still on site," the EPA said in a recap of conditions there.

In addition to the drums inside the still, there appeared to be evidence of solid waste and wooden pallets, showing evidence of burning.

Compounders Inc. for decades manufactured a number of chemical compounds, most likely for use in glues and adhesives. It appears at some point, the company moved on to manufacturing asphalts that were loaded into trucks for use.

The company stopped production in 2019 and sold its stock, but not the property in 2021.

The state Attorney General's office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the Feb. 9 fire.

Related stories

To read more Patch news about the 15 Marl Road cleanup site, you can refer to the following stories:

Mystery barrels leaking in a New Jersey community could take months to contain and remove as environmental crews continue sorting through the hundreds of drums at an abandoned site.

A team from the Environmental Protection Agency has been on hand since last month, making their way through more than 400 rusting drums that have, for decades, contained chemicals used to make adhesives and asphalt.

In recent years, the hundreds of drums and more than 1,000 smaller containers containing potentially hazardous materials have deteriorated, leading to a potentially dangerous outcome for neighbors. Last month, schools and homeowners in Monmouth County were told to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.

Many of the drums at the former Farmingdale industrial plant, which borders Howell, were found to be leaking, rusting and bulging. The plant has long been shut down, but the barrels stuck around.

A spokesperson for the EPA said "significant progress" has been made in securing the drums, but none of the chemicals have been removed from the site. The disposal process will take some time as teams continue identifying what is inside the barrels and determine the best course of removal.

One nearby resident told NBC New York that she remembers decades ago when her children were coming home from school around lunchtime, and they saw the lids exploding, up in the air.

That kind of thing is still entirely possible at the site, because no one knows for sure what chemicals are still present.

Earlier in 2023, the new owner was burning some barrels in an old incinerator on the property, when the fumes and particulate pollution drifted into nearby neighborhoods, alarming first responders who rushed to put the fire out.

When Eric Daly, the on-scene coordinator for the EPA, was asked about those exploding lids 40 years ago, he said "You’re basically proving the reason we’re taking our time with this."

With some 4,000 students going to school within the one-mile hot zone that reaches into Howell, residents are urged to have a go-pack for an evacuation that could be called at any time if the chemicals catch on fire.

"Everybody should have an evacuation plan or get-out-of-here plan just in case," said Howell-Farmingdale OEM Director Victor Cook.

That being said, the EPA does feel it has the situation under as much control as it can without knowing what’s on the site. The agency hopes everything can be hauled away by the end of summer or shortly thereafter. Then it will have to deal with whatever pollution it finds in the soil and possibly in the groundwater.