Middletown Bridge Now Won't Open Until December

Middletown, NJ - The new Bray Avenue bridge was scheduled to open in June, but now has been delayed to December at the latest, Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone tells the Asbury Park Press this week.

"We’re anticipating the completion date will be in December — with very realistic hopes that somewhere between October and December this project will get done," Arnone said, according to the APP.

The bridge, which crosses Pews Creek, has been closed since January 2013 after Hurricane Sandy hit in late October 2012. A tidal surge from Sandy swallowed the bridge in water and Monmouth County decided to replace it.

The new delay is because construction crews working on the bridge need to move power lines underground, and address an old sewer main, both of which were unanticipated, Arnone said.

Some town officials and residents expressed concern about emergency vehicles having to use Rt. 36 because the bridge has been out for so long. There is a volunteer firehouse near the bridge.

Read the full story here.

Photo: View of the Bray Avenue Bridge from a kayak in Pews Creek. Credit: John Moura