BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer
MIGUELJUAREZ staff Construction on the Atlantic Avenue Bridge has halted and the county is seeking a new contractor for the project. LONG BRANCH –– A new contractor for the abandoned Atlantic Avenue bridge project could be hired as soon as this week, according to the Monmouth County engineer.
Work on the bridge halted in June and the project is only half complete, according to Joseph Ettore.
Work on the bridge replacement project began last August and was expected to be completed by this fall.
The original contract for the project was awarded to Robert Charles Enterprises, Linden, for $2.5 million, according to Ettore, who said construction ceased in June when the contractor laid off construction crews due to financial problems.
“We are working with the contractor’s bonding company to develop a project recovery schedule,” Ettore said. “We will try everything possible to complete this project as soon as possible.
“We expect to have a revised completion date within the next two weeks.”
A meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow with county engineers and the bonding company, at which time Ettore said he should know who the new contractor will be, when work will start and when the contractor is expected to be finished.
The county bridge, which spans Troutman’s Creek on Atlantic Avenue, was originally constructed in 1925 and its condition was rated as structurally deficient and functionally obsolete by the New Jersey Department of Transportation last year and a complete replacement was warranted.
The project included complete removal of the original 62-foot-wide main span bridge which was flanked by two 10-foot, rigid frame overflow culverts.
The new bridge will have a 62-foot-wide center span and two 40-foot end spans, according to Ettore.
Work on the substructure was completed by Robert Charles Enterprises, but work had not commenced on the superstructure, Ettore said.
Robert Charles Enterprises has been paid $1.4 million, which Euttore said is the value of the work that has been completed.
Starting July 8, the contractor has been fined at a rate of $700 per day for liquidation damages, according to Euttore.
Local traffic will continue to use a detour from Liberty Street to Florence Avenue to Atlantic Avenue while the bridge is out of commission.
“We will work with the bonding company and new contractor to complete [the bridge] as soon as possible,” Euttore said. “We will push to have the bridge completed by the end of the year.”

