No doubt township residents have noticed the numerous road construction projects going on in the last few weeks, so when Larry D'Oench emailed me with a construction question, I assumed it would be an easy answer. However, it turns out the mystery of What's Going on With the Old Shell Station on Main Road was a little more involved than I expected.

For those who might not know right away (like me, for example), the Shell station Larry is referring to is on Route 202, across the street from the Boonton Walgreens, near the intersection of Myrtle and Vreeland Ave.

After a quick drive, I was able to confirm what Larry said: there is indeed something going down at that old Shell station. An earthmover is stationed at the lot, digging what appear to be two big holes in the parking lot.

Now usually, with construction questions, the answers aren't hard to come by. A quick call to the township engineer or the township administrator will get things on the right track, if not downright solved. However, because the Shell station isn't technically in Montville, I would have to boldly go where no Montvillian has gone before to solve this problem: Boonton.

All jokes aside, the Boonton town clerk, Cynthia Oravits, was very helpful. She was able to tell me that the owners of the Shell station, Northwest Petroleum, were digging up some underground tanks that used to be hooked up to the station. What's more, after a quick call to Northwestern Petroleum, a representative from the company informed me that they hope to put a new, operating gas station in the space soon.

Unfortunately, no one was sure how long the project would last or when a new gas station can be expected. The best bet for now is to keep an eye on the location: a new gas station could be moving in any day.

Thanks for your question, Larry, I hope I answered it for you.