To the Editor:
I never thought I could get emotional about asphalt. We are talking about the road surface. What’s to get emotional about? But when my road was repaved, I experienced a surge of raw feelings. Love at first sight; delight, exuberance, elevated spirit.
My road may have been the worst in Princeton. It was so rutted and potholed that when the gas line replacement work was finished and they patched our road, the patch became the best part of the whole road. We had potholes that had their own potholes.We had ruts where long ago utility work left a sunken surface that had evolved its own potholes. We had underlayer rock that scattered around on the bits of good pavement. The word in our family was, “Don’t try to drink coffee on this road. Same with Nassau Street.” The whole neighborhood was a mess. How many patches could one road take?
Then it came. In a burst of overnight noise and rumbling and the old roadway was gone, and a new road surface was there instead. Smooth as a baby’s bottom. Flat and perfect and slick. One could play marbles on its smooth surface. One could drive the car without spilling a cup of coffee.
I was so tickled. My heart took a leap. My sense of good closure got good closure. My Japanese sense of “Wa” was restored. I felt inner calm. I was so smitten by my smooth road that I drove all around town just to enjoy the difference. Lumpy Linden Lane is now Linen Linden. Pothole Pine is now Placid Pine. Wonderful Walnut, and Half of Hamilton is smooth while the other half is…? And what happened on Harrison where we got one lane paved and the rest is — same old same old. Please somebody do something about Harrison from Hamilton to Nassau Street.
And exactly what is happening on Nassau Street? The gas line work made a mess of the town side of Nassau Street and they repaved all the mess they made from Harrison to Palmer Square, but what about the other side? Is the side of Nassau Street that faces the University not decrepit enough to repave?? Are we going to have Nassau Street half smooth and half ruts? Whatever. My road is smooth as silk and the worst of the ruts are gone all over town.
Hats off to all the folks at PSE&G and everyone who worked on the repaving of our roads. It really makes a difference, and it is really appreciated. Smooth driving to all.