Atlantic City council approves South State Inc. contract for Atlantic Avenue revitalization

Council President Randolph and the Atlantic City Council approved a contract on Sept. 17 with South State Inc. to carry out Component 2 of the Atlantic Avenue Corridor Revitalization and Safety Project.

Mayor Marty Small, announcing the vote and later addressing the council, said the work will pave remaining stretches of Atlantic Avenue and move forward longstanding safety improvements. “This is paving the remaining streets on the Atlantic Avenue,” Mayor Marty Small said during the meeting. He told the council the project had been delayed by litigation and later by administrative steps to secure federal funding.

The mayor credited federal help in releasing grant money and noted the city will synchronize traffic signals on Atlantic and Pacific Avenues as part of a package of corridor improvements. “For the first time in our history … Atlantic and Pacific Avenue lights will be synchronized,” Mayor Small said, adding that the initial Pacific Avenue scope will cover “about 2, maybe 4 blocks” and described planned curb‑cut and paving work elsewhere along the corridor.

Council members raised no additional roll‑call objections to moving the resolution forward. The clerk recorded a final tally of eight affirmative votes after Councilwoman Dunston changed her earlier vote, and the motion passed. For the record, the council later confirmed the vote changed to eight in the affirmative.

The resolution (6‑78) was moved earlier on the agenda so the mayor could present project details to the council and the public. The administration characterized the contract as the next construction step after funding delays and court proceedings; the mayor said stakeholders’ litigation had held the work up and that congressional assistance helped release the grant funds.

Council discussion during the meeting included references to the project timeline, what work will be covered in the initial contract, and a request to consider additional blocks if funding permits. The mayor said he had asked the contractor for a full price to pave “the entire avenue,” but the immediate work will be limited and tied to the funds available now.

Council members and the mayor also discussed coordinating the paving work with signal synchronization and curb repairs, and acknowledged weather and logistics could affect the schedule. The council did not adopt additional funding or amended scope at the meeting; the approved action was the contract award for Component 2 to South State Inc.

The council listed the vote and accepted the mayor’s presentation; staff said they will return with implementation timing and more detailed detours and construction notifications.

Ending: The approved contract sends the Atlantic Avenue component to procurement completion and into construction planning. The administration said it will provide more precise paving timelines and specific block‑by‑block scheduling to the council and the public in follow‑up communications.