Batsto Country Living Fair 2011 is Cancelled

[Ben Ruset]

Dear Country Living Fair Participant,


We regret to inform you that the 2011 Batsto Country Living Fair has been cancelled. This was a joint decision made with input from BCCI, Wharton State Forest, the Atlantic County engineer’s office, NJ Park Police and the NJ State Police. The decision was made with safety being the main concern. Response time for an emergency either at Batsto or along the detour could be too long in some cases.


Hurricane Irene did extensive damage to the 2 bridges on Route 542 between the Batsto Church and Batsto and washed out a portion of the road near the intersection of RT. 542 and Pleasant Mills Road. At that point there is no traffic in either direction. The detour, through Sweetwater, Weekstown and over the Green Bank Bridge to Route 542, is along two-lane roads with no shoulders.


The detour makes a bottleneck at BelHaven Paddle Sports. Here traffic converges from Chatsworth, from Egg Harbor City and from the detour. This makes for only one entrance to Batsto and only one exit as well.


Because of the closing of Route 542, there is also no entrance into Batsto’s Lower Village where the antique engines, motors, etc. would have been located. So that portion of the Fair would have been closed regardless.


We hate to disappoint you! But your safety and our visitors’ safety is our primary concern. We are discouraged by this cancellation as well, but must make a decision that is in the best interest of our vendors and our visitors. Considering all of the circumstances we are sure that you will agree.


Thank you! We look forward to working with you on the 2012 Batsto Country Living Fair.


Sincerely,
Carol Martynuik
Janet Worrell

 

[RednekF350]

That is sad Ben. We look forward to it every year.

I hope the County attacks those bridges quickly.
I have a lot of faith in the Burlington County and Atlantic County Engineering and Highway Departments. If it was Camden County Highway in charge, we would all be walking to Batsto for the next twenty years or more.

For anyone interested, the Smithville Octoberfest is this weekend. We go for the nice motorcycle ride and the Becks Octoberfest availble at the beer wagons !

 

[Scrambler81]

Shame. I got an email the other day and they were still deciding. I only found that show last year, but really enjoyed it. I live just off 542 in Hammonton, and there are a few other roads around here that are closed as well. I hope they get them cleared up soon, I prefer to ride in that direction whenever I get a chance.

 

[Teegate]

I suspect Chatsworth will get some of the usual visitors to the Batsto Fair. This may cause even more gridlock in that area.

Guy

 

[oji]

Pinelands Discovery Festival at Whitesbog is also cancelled this year.

 

[46er]

17th annual Pine Barrens Jamboree is still on for 10/8 as far as I know, as is the Fall Forestry Festival at the FREC this Saturday.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/forest/fall_festival.html

Unfortunately, Ocean County redid their parks web site and I can't figure out where the page for the jamboree is. Some things are better left alone.

 

[fierodoug]

Why was the whitesbog festival cancelled?? I'm doing the Pinelands Discovery bike ride in the morning and was looking foward to the festival in the afternoon. That stinks

 

[46er]

Why was the whitesbog festival cancelled??

It doesn't appear it was ever scheduled, does not appear on the current 2011 event schedule or newsletters. It may have been on the schedule though, as the schedule was updated on 9/1, but there is no notice of cancellation.

 

[oji]

It was on there and was removed with the update. Burlington Co. College decided they couldn't afford it. I think it's still listed on the PPA's events calendar.

 

[this_is_nascar]

Since we're talking about cancellations, I found this on the Wading Pines Campground website. I stay at WP as a seasonal and I've always disliked this event due to the noise and the few bad apples that thought they owned the campground. I'm sorry for those who do right and participate in this, but am smiling ear-to-ear for the piece and quiet.

October 29​

Meteor Dual sport motorcycle event cancelled due to denial of Government Permits.​

October 30​

Meteor Dual sport motorcycle event cancelled due to denial of Government Permits.​

 

[GermanG]

17th annual Pine Barrens Jamboree is still on for 10/8 as far as I know, as is the Fall Forestry Festival at the FREC this Saturday.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/forest/fall_festival.html

Unfortunately, Ocean County redid their parks web site and I can't figure out where the page for the jamboree is. Some things are better left alone.

The special events are all listed on the home page of the website, within a box titled Parks and Recreation Updates.

 

[piker56]

Can the boat launch for Batsto Lake be reached coming from 563?

 

[Pine Baron]

Greg-

According to the Batsto office today, the Mullica R. bridge is out and the Batsto R. bridge is still closed pending inspection.

John-

 

[this_is_nascar]

Maybe it's me, but I'm pretty shocked at how long it's taking to get these bridges look at and fixed. I've not seen a picture of the damage, so I don't know of the extent, but it just seems to be taking an awfully long time.

 

[Scrambler81]

Maybe it's me, but I'm pretty shocked at how long it's taking to get these bridges look at and fixed. I've not seen a picture of the damage, so I don't know of the extent, but it just seems to be taking an awfully long time.

The bridge near the church is pretty bad. The water basically got behind the bridge structure and wiped out all of the sand under the road, so there is a huge hole there. I didn't go any further, so I don't know about the next one.
There is very similar damage, though the hole is smaller, at the bridge on 693 near the Hammonton airport, and again on 613 about 1/2 mile from there. None of them seem to be getting done last I looked. I gotta figure the towns and counties are A) broke and/or B) fighting over who is responsible for the repairs. Could be a long time before anything is right again.

 

[Teegate]

So the road by the airport is closed also?

Guy

 

[Boyd]

Maybe it's me, but I'm pretty shocked at how long it's taking to get these bridges look at and fixed.

I agree, but remembering other bridge closings, I think it will be a long time. No doubt they have to do all kinds of engineering and environmental studies and bring everything up to current codes before they fix a bridge. The bridge by Weymouth Furnace was closed for a long time, maybe a year? How long was the bridge closed by Chatsworth lake?

It seems to take longer and longer for the state to complete seemingly small highway projects these days. Maybe I'm just not as patient as I used to be? Has anyone noticed the construction on Rt 49 just south of Rt 55? Apparently they are just putting in storm sewers, but they've been working on this 1 mile section of road for well over a year with no end in sight. How hard is it to bury a sewer pipe in the sand? Maybe it's environmental regulations combined with low bid contractors?

 

[RednekF350]

So the road by the airport is closed also?

Guy

We got surprised on Saturday trying to go to the decoy show. We had to turn around at the airport driveway. The bridge 50 yards past their driveway had been totally removed.

 

[Teegate]

We got surprised on Saturday trying to go to the decoy show. We had to turn around at the airport driveway. The bridge 50 yards past their driveway had been totally removed.

That is the "Drivers Branch." You don't hear of that one much.

Guy

 

[piker56]

I agree, but remembering other bridge closings, I think it will be a long time. No doubt they have to do all kinds of engineering and environmental studies and bring everything up to current codes before they fix a bridge. The bridge by Weymouth Furnace was closed for a long time, maybe a year? How long was the bridge closed by Chatsworth lake?

It seems to take longer and longer for the state to complete seemingly small highway projects these days. Maybe I'm just not as patient as I used to be? Has anyone noticed the construction on Rt 49 just south of Rt 55? Apparently they are just putting in storm sewers, but they've been working on this 1 mile section of road for well over a year with no end in sight. How hard is it to bury a sewer pipe in the sand? Maybe it's environmental regulations combined with low bid contractors?

I'm not to familiar with the area you mentioned, but the company I work for designs and oversee's many underground utility installations. The environmental regulations can be an absolute nightmare. Plus, many townships have few, or no drawings of what is already underground, but the contractor is often still held responsible if he damages an existing underground line, whether it shows on a drawing or not. We've had projects drag on for months because we keep digging up existing stuff that didn't show on any maps, even after calling the 800 number (call before you dig) to have things marked out. And of course, yes, you're correct. It's always the lowest bidder, and sometimes you don't exactly get the "A" team on your job.