Atlantic City approves Atlantic Avenue revitalization contract; mayor details paving, signal work and related safety cameras

Atlantic City council on Sept. 17 approved a contract for the Atlantic Avenue corridor revitalization and heard a presentation from Mayor Marty Small describing paving work, coordinated traffic-signal improvements and a related security-camera deployment.

The council voted to award the contract to South State Inc. for the Atlantic City corridor revitalization and safety project component 2, Atlantic Avenue; the motion was moved and seconded and recorded in the minutes. Council President Randolph announced the roll call after the vote and later confirmed the resolution passed unanimously following a change in one council member’s vote.

Mayor Marty Small told the council the contract will pave remaining blocks of Atlantic Avenue, and he said work was delayed by litigation and by the federal process used to release grant money. “This would have been done 2 years ago if our stakeholders didn't sue us,” he said, and he credited Congressman Jeff Andrew for helping get grant funds released.

Small described targeted paving on Pacific Avenue as well, saying “about 2, maybe 4 blocks would be paved on Pacific Avenue” and that work will extend toward a nearby landmark he identified in remarks. He also said the administration and project partners will synchronize traffic signals on Atlantic and Pacific avenues where possible, and he asked council members to set constituent expectations about the scale and limits of paving work.

Separately, council members approved a contract to install mobile (fixed-mounted along the corridor) security cameras funded by a congressional grant. Administration staff told the council the camera work is timed to follow fiber installation made as part of the Atlantic Avenue roadway project so live camera feeds can connect to the Atlantic City Police Department surveillance center and the citywide surveillance platform. The administration said the grant enabling the camera installation was provided by Congressman Van Drew and the cameras will be placed along Atlantic Avenue between Albany Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue, following the newly repaved roadway.

Council members and the administration also discussed sequencing: fiber must be in place before cameras are activated, and some work depends on weather and contractor schedules. No additional city general-fund appropriation for the corridor contract was described in the council presentation; the mayor said the project uses previously authorized grant dollars and other designated funding.

The council’s action moves the Atlantic Avenue contract and the related fiber-and-camera work forward and clears the way for the administration to finalize timelines with the contractor and for crews to begin remaining curb, curb-cut and paving tasks where weather and logistics allow.

Looking ahead, the mayor invited council members to help set constituent expectations about the geographic limits of the contract work and noted that litigation and federal grant release timing had been key causes of earlier delays.