Repairs To Parkway Culvert After Arson Will Cost Millions: Turnpike Official

BRICK, NJ — Repairs to a culvert that was set on fire last week, prompting the Garden State Parkway for several hours, may cost in the millions of dollars, a New Jersey Turnpike Authority official said Monday.

Engineers and inspectors are continuing to assess the damage from the fire that New Jersey State Police said was deliberately set in the culvert that runs under the Parkway in the area of Exit 91, said Tom Feeney, a Turnpike Authority spokesman.

"It's going to be in the millions, we don't have a firm estimate yet," Feeney said.

The culvert is 5 feet in diameter and 300 feet long, and runs from just west of the southbound lanes under the Parkway to east of the northbound lanes in the area of Exit 91.

It is a concrete structure that is part of the original construction of the Parkway and dates back to when the highway was extended to Ocean County in the mid-1950s, Feeney said.

The concrete was reinforced with a resin lining that cures to the concrete a number of years ago, Feeney said, and it was the resin lining that was severely damaged by the fire, he said.

"Just replacing that (the resin lining) is a massive project," he said.

New Jersey State Police are asking for the public's help in identifying those who set the fire. State police said a group of people, possibly juveniles, set the fire Wednesday and then were seen running from the culvert into the Evergreen Woods Park apartment complex nearby.

The fire produced billowing smoke that forced authorities to shut down traffic in both directions about 5:15 p.m., Feeney said. The road reopened to traffic by about 3 a.m. Thursday, he said.

The closure, in the midst of rush hour, jammed traffic for 8 miles on the southbound lanes as hundreds of commuters were heading home Wednesday night.

Residents in Evergreen Woods told Patch the odor from the fire was so strong they could smell it inside their homes.

Brick Township police are urging anyone with information about the arson to contact state police, who are continuing to investigate.

"Yesterday's fire was dangerous and caused significant traffic problems for several hours," Brick police said. "We want to both acknowledge the multi-agency efforts at fighting and containing the fire and ask the community for some assistance in the ensuing arson investigation."

Anyone who may have witnessed the group setting the fire or the events leading up to it, or has any other information that might aid the investigation, is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police Troop "D" Criminal Investigation Office in Holmdel Station at 732-441-4576. Anonymous tips are welcome.

Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters here, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Brick Patch on Facebook.