BY ANN GENADER
WEST MILFORD — The township has closed a section of Burnt Meadow Road near the Ringwood border because of its poor condition.
Burnt Meadow Road in West Milford begins at the Greenwood Lake Turnpike intersection and proceeds south for about four miles into Ringwood. The final wooded section owned by West Milford in the area of the municipal boundary line includes 1,660 feet of roadway that is in very poor condition and is being closed by West Milford officials.
The road from Greenwood Lake Turnpike – as a result of the closure - will now be about two and a half miles.
The majority of vacant forest land along Burnt Meadow Road has been preserved for open space through purchases by the Passaic River Coalition, the state, county and Ringwood borough.
By closing this section of the road, the township will have a bit less road area to maintain and be responsible for. The action by the administration to close the section of road is in keeping with the stated goal of township officials to save money and cut costs where possible.
The first area roads – such as Burnt Meadow Road – had humble origins. The tracks of the animals that traveled along the lines of least resistance to reach destinations became paths and later were Indian trails that would be the routes for roads built after the Europeans arrived, established the iron industry and built small, self-sufficient communities.
Originally known as Caywood Road, the road known today as Burnt Meadow Road had the name of one of the early European families to settle in the Wanaque, Ringwood, and Hewitt areas. It was mapped as a continuous road in the 1920s and 30s.
West Milford Engineering Department Aide Eric Miller reported to West Milford officials in December that a draft road closing ordinance was being prepared for the portion between the last house in the West Milford portion of the road and the Ringwood boundary. He said then that reducing this section to the equivalent of a fire (emergency) road will save the costs associated with full municipal roadway maintenance.
In West Milford there are individual homes that were built along the road during a wide range of years. For example, one was built in 1930 while another house along the road was not constructed before 2012. West Milford has a number of factories and businesses established along the road and Shiloh Bible Camp is located there. The Ringwood end of the road meets Stonetown Road and has 47 assessed properties on record in that borough.