Candidate Calls for Renovations To Lehigh-Hillside Tunnel

The following press release was submitted by Thomas Hannen Jr., a Democrat running for the single open seat on the Township Comittee.

Persistent leaking is making Kanishka Passage a muddy and potentially dangerous mess, says Tom Hannen, candidate for Cranford Township Committee.

"Hundreds of children use this tunnel to get to school," said Hannen. "Right now the puddles are a nuisance, but come the winter, this will all turn to ice."

The tunnel runs under the Lehigh Valley Freight Rail tracks between Lehigh Avenue and Hillside Avenue School. It is named in honor of Dr. Kanishka Paul, who attended Cranford schools and died shortly after receiving his medical degree.

The passage saw a $100,000 upgrade in 2010, funded in the previous year's capital budget. But since the work was completed, the water conditions seem to be just as bad.

"We need to go back and see what the contractors promised and look at remedies for abating the seepage," said Hannen. "Until then the Township should consider better grading to make sure that water runs into the drains at the ends of the tunnel rather than pooling in the middle."

Hannen co-owns and manages a manufacturing business in Linden and is a volunteer firefighter in town. He is a longtime member of the Cranford Flood Advisory Committee.