Traffic & Transit
Hopewell Twp. Bridge Replacement Project Begins
The bridge on Washington Crossing-Pennington Road that runs over Woolsey Brook will be closed 24/7 for the next 3 months.
HOPEWELL, NJ — The bridge on Washington Crossing-Pennington Road (County Route 546) that runs over Woolsey Brook in Hopewell Township will begin being replaced on Tuesday, the Mercer County Department of Transportation and Infrastructure said.
The roughly $1.7 million project is expected to take 93 days to complete by Midlantic Construction LLC of Barnegat, weather permitting.
During construction, the bridge which is located between Scotch Road and Bear Tavern Road will be closed to all traffic on a 24/7 basis. Drivers going west on Washington Crossing-Pennington Road will be directed to use Scotch Road, Interstate 295 and NJ Route 29. Drivers going east will be directed to use NJ Route 29, Interstate 295 and Scotch Road.
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Detour signs will also be posted for local traffic only on Jacobs Creek Road and Bear Tavern Road, and residents will have access up to the bridge.
The existing single-span bridge with concrete-encased steel beams is considered structurally deficient due to the poor condition of the superstructure and substructure, according to the Mercer County DOT.
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The current sufficiency rating is 29.1 on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being the best.
The replacement structure will be a precast concrete culvert on concrete footings, concrete wing walls, concrete bridge deck, concrete bridge approach slabs, concrete pedestals, concrete bridge pylons and four-bar open steel bridge railings.
Roadway work includes hot mix asphalt paving, new striping, new guiderail and approach guiderail systems, excavation, top-soiling, seeding and new traffic signals.
The proposed cross-section at the bridge will consist of two 12-foot travel lanes, one 6- foot and one 8-foot shoulder to accommodate future bicycle lanes. A 5-foot sidewalk will be provided on the south side. A new upgraded traffic signal will replace the existing temporary signal.
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