Leaf Pickup To Be Completed In Two Weeks

If you’re wondering when the leaves in your neighborhood are going to be picked up, it shouldn’t be long now, Township officials said.

Jeffry Bertrand, township administrator, said Wednesday during the Township Committee’s organization meeting that Department of Public Works crews are bearing down on the leaves to get them cleaned up before the first snow falls.

Bertand said he expects the roads will be cleared of leaves in the next two weeks.

Bertand said workers whose scheduled vacations were canceled during the Hurricane Sandy aftermath, have been rotating in and out of vacation time, slowing the leaf pickup.

“There was a rather large hurricane, superstorm, that came through the area and we did spend approximately five weeks picking up debris,’’ Bertrand said. “And due to the fact that we suspended all vacation time during the cleanup, we had to catch up on some vacation time.’’

He said crews, augmented by 15 part-time workers, had cleared the town’s 32 miles of 14,000 tons of bush and other felled vegetation in the wake of Sandy and the following nor’Easter.

Leaf pickup has resumed in the past two weeks with a full complement of workers and the job should be completed within two more weeks, he said.

“We’re done with one section, we’re halfway through a second section, with two to go,’’ Bertrand said. “We apologize for the delay. We’re as frustrated as some of our residents.’’