Atlantic City council approves South State Inc. contract for Atlantic Avenue revitalization; mayor says lawsuit delayed work

Atlantic City — The City Council voted to award a contract to South State Inc. for the Atlantic Avenue corridor revitalization and safety project (component 2) during its Sept. 17 meeting, and Mayor Marty Small said litigation and a delayed federal grant release kept the work from happening earlier.

The council approved the resolution, which the clerk recorded as resolution 6 78, by an 8-0 affirmative vote after one council member changed her earlier vote. The measure moves the Atlantic Avenue paving and safety work forward and was followed by remarks from the mayor outlining how and when parts of the corridor and nearby streets will be repaved and adjusted.

The action matters because Atlantic Avenue is a key commercial corridor and the contract covers paving and safety elements the administration says are needed to complete the roadway work. Mayor Marty Small told the council the work was “paving the remaining streets on the Atlantic Avenue,” and said the project “would have been done 2 years ago if our stakeholders didn't sue us.”

Small said the grant funding for the project had been approved earlier but required release. “I had to give kudos to Congressman Jeff Van Drew who helped get the money released,” the mayor said, attributing the final release of funds to the congressman’s assistance. He said Atlantic Avenue improvements and related signal work are now proceeding because that money is available.

The mayor described additional, near-term work on Pacific Avenue tied to the project and the city’s traffic signals. “About 2, maybe 4 blocks would be paved on Pacific Avenue,” Small said, and added that the city will synchronize lights on Atlantic and Pacific avenues. He also described curb-cut and other preparatory work already under way and said, “weather permitting, next week we'll be paving back together to Mazoy to the front side of Mazoy.”

Council action: Council members voted on resolution 6 78 to award the contract to South State Inc.; the recorded outcome was approval. The council roll call as recorded in the meeting transcript shows the mayor’s presentation followed the vote and the clerk later noted the vote change to eight in the affirmative.

Discussion vs. decision: The council’s formal decision was the contract award. The mayor’s remarks that followed were descriptive and directional — laying out an immediate schedule, noting constraints that remain (weather, staging, and prior litigation), and seeking cooperation from council members on neighbourhood priorities. No additional council motion or formal direction to staff is recorded in the transcript beyond the contract vote.

Next steps and timeline: The mayor said signal synchronization and certain paving segments are scheduled as crews complete curb and utility work and as weather permits; he asked departments to provide pricing when requested to consider expanding the Pacific Avenue work. The administration did not give exact contract start and completion dates during the presentation.

What was not said or confirmed: The council did not include contract dollar amounts in the public presentation, and the administration did not provide a precise completion date for the Atlantic Avenue component in the remarks recorded in the transcript.

For residents: The mayor recommended council members set constituent expectations about limited immediate paving on Pacific Avenue and emphasized that some future expansions will depend on pricing and funding availability.