Bridges part of county’s $10.9M improvement plan
By:Jeff Mikalaitis
Two bridges, one on Jacksonville-Hedding Road in Mansfield Township and the other on Monmouth Road in North Hanover Township, are scheduled to be replaced next year.
The replacements are part of $10.9 million county road and bridge improvement plan. The plan also will provide for road sign replacement, road resurfacing and other improvement projects that will directly impact 25 county municipalities.
The Jacksonville-Hedding Road bridge, located between Jacksonville-Jobstown Road and Route 543, is a timber bridge that is deteriorated.
It was built in 1932, and has a 10-ton weight limit. The project will cost $200,000 and the road will be closed for three months while the bridge is replaced.
According County Engineer Joseph G. Caruso, Petticoat Bridge Road is a probable detour.
The plans are complete and the permits have been issued. Construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2001.
The bridge on Monmouth Road, located near the Robson Farm, is a 30-inch concrete pipe that was installed in the 1920s. The pipe joints have opened up allowing roadfill to seep into the pipe, causing pavement settlement. The timber headwall at the end of the pipe also is collapsing.
The replacement will cost $300,000. The design is in progress.
Because Monmouth Road is a major county road (Route 537), and there is no convenient detour, the road will not be closed.
Mr. Caruso said he is confident the construction will not pose a problem for motorists.
“We will have no problem maintaining traffic,” he said.
Both bridges will be replaced with a reinforced concrete box culvert, a concrete support structure.
According to Dave Wyche, a Burlington County spokesman, the reinforced concrete culverts will eliminate weight restrictions on the bridges.
“It is a priority to eliminate weight limit signs,” he said. “A major reason for this is for emergency vehicles. They will be able to use the road without weight restriction.”
The funds for both projects will come from county taxes.
Another part of the plan is the county sign replacement program which, according to Mr. Wyche, is funded by the federal government.
Phase 1, which involves the replacement of 5,539 signs, is slated to begin this week. It includes 1,817 stop signs, 449 school warning signs and 500 curve warning signs.
Phase 2 is scheduled to begin later this year. It includes the replacement of street signs on traffic signal mast arms, speed limit signs and lane control signs. Phase 3 has recently been approved.
When all three phases of the sign replacement projects are complete, more than 17,000 signs throughout the county will have been replaced.
The road and bridge plan also includes the resurfacing of a section of Hedding-Kinkora Road, in Mansfield, between County Route 660 to Route 130. The project will cost $180,000.