Vosseller Avenue Reopens In Bridgewater After 2 Month Closure Due To Ida Damage

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Vosseller Avenue reopened on Monday in Bridgewater — exactly two months since Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on one of the township's main arteries.

Barriers were removed from the roadway near Cedarcrest Road around 5 p.m. on Monday.

Vosseller Avenue, which connects Route 22 to Washington Valley Road, was the hardest hit roadway in the township from the storm.

"It's not as visually shocking as the Chimney Rock Road project but when inspectors went out... the entire wall that supports the road was gone," said Mayor Matthew Moench during a previous council meeting.

Floodwaters completely destroyed one of the retaining walls, built in 2011, closest to Hillcrest Road and the other two sustained significant damage and erosion.

As a result, an $800,000 emergency appropriation and the emergency contract was awarded on Sept. 9 to Vollers Excavating & Construction to repair the retaining wall on Voseller Avenue.

The contractor began work imminently to resolve this unsafe condition and get that section of Vosseller Avenue open as soon as possible.

The township worked with engineers and professionals to not only replace the retaining walls but improve them.

"We are not just replacing them but connecting them so it doesn't fail in the future," said Bridgewater Spokesman Wells Winegar.

Work was initially expected to take two weeks but the conditions of the landscape have made it more difficult to complete. Drilling work for the new retaining wall was slow-moving due to the rocky terrain.

Moench previously said the township was hoping to complete the project and reopen the roadway by mid to late October.

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