Extension of a new power supply to the Morristown & Township Library should begin by the end of next week, said Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty.
As outlined to the planning board last month, Jersey Central Power & Light will bring a new line down Miller Road to a transformer to be installed behind the library, which has been closed since May 3 because of a powerful explosion that remains under investigation.
JCP&L’s work involves replacing a utility pole on Miller Road and digging a curbside trench that will cross Maple Avenue en route to the library. An above-ground transformer also will be installed behind the library. Everything should take two- to three weeks, the Mayor said.
“Then it’s up to the library to get their switching gear ready,” he said.
When the library will reopen remains unclear. Library Interim Director Maria Norton could not be reached for comment yesterday. Initially, she hoped for a partial reopening of the library around Labor Day. She revised that target last month, expressing a desire to reopen part of the building before year’s end.
Concerned by a series of exploding manhole covers downtown, and by two unexplained library explosions since 1994, library officials insisted on a new power source with an outdoor, above-ground transformer.
JCP&L spokesman Ron Morano declined to comment on the status of the investigation into the cause of the May basement blast.
“Currently we are focusing on completing the work we need to do to get the library back in service,” the spokesman said.
Traffic disruptions on Miller and Maple should be minimal during JCP&L’s trenching, said the Mayor, who is eager for a safe reopening of the building.
“People really want the library reopened,” he said.
