Apair of Monmouth County bridges, one in Rumson, will receive an upgrade in 2008 as part of a state Department of Transportation (DOT) grant program.
Oceanic Bridge Monmouth County officials received a $135,000 Historic Bridge Preservation Program grant for the 2,712-foot Oceanic Bridge that connects Rumson to the Locust section of Middletown over the Navesink River Oct. 23.
“We’re very pleased that our applications were favorably received. The county is also contributing $40,000 toward the project. Our contribution will be the design engineering, and the construction, inspection,” said Assistant Monmouth County Engineer Peter Imperiale Monday.
He added, “The dollars that we are getting from the DOT will actually pay for the contractor and the materials.”
The grant was the third highest amount received and Monmouth County was one of four counties that received the DOT grants, which totaled $588,000. There were five grants received in total in Monmouth, Cape May, Hunterdon and Warren counties.
“The Historic Bridge Preservation Program grants will provide counties resources to preserve the integrity and safety of these historic bridges, thereby ensuring their use by future generations of New Jerseyans,” said Commissioner Kris Kolluri in a press release.
Monmouth County officials received another $42,000 Historic Bridge Preservation grant for improvements to the Glimmer Glass Bridge that connects Manasquan and Brielle over the Glimmer Glass.
According to the DOT press release, the grants will be put toward rehabilitation work to extend the lifespan of the bridges and the county would have 18 months to use the grant with a one-time, six-month extension allowed.
Improvements to the Oceanic Bridge, also known as County Bridge S-31, include the replacement of the existing deck joints in the roadway and sidewalks. The roadway joints will be reconstructed and sealed and the armoring at the sidewalk joints will be removed and replaced.
“There is not enough money to do all of them but we have some that are critically damaged.”
In addition, the historic bridges, none of which are located on the state highway system, are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
“Preference was given to those structures that have been identified as being listed in, or eligible for listing in, the National Register of Historic Places as identified by the N.J. Historic Preservation Office,” according to DOT spokesman Timothy Greeley.
The Oceanic Bridge was the center of controversy for several years while the county was looking at several different plans to replace the historic but deteriorating drawbridge, including one that would increase the height of the structure from 50 to 70 feet.
The borough councils of Rumson, Fair Haven, Little Silver and Middletown passed resolutions opposing a larger, fixed bridge and county officials eventually recommended that the new span built to replace the bridge remain a low-level, moveable bridge rather than a higher, fixed span.
“This is just a very minor maintenance reconstruction as opposed to replacing the bridge,” said Imperiale. “There are plans to replace the bridge in the future.”
Imperiale said plans to replace the bridge are still at least three to five years away, a number that he estimated to be closer to five years until construction would begin.
Greeley said the county grant applications were rated based on program criteria, project need, project readiness, applicants’ past performance using other local aid funds and the project priority for the applicant.
Greeley also cautioned that the DOT is simply providing funding and technical assistance as needed and that the advancement of the project is in the hands of county officials.
Each county is also responsible for advancing the work on the upgrades, obtaining necessary permits, coordinating the work effort with the DOT and Historic Preservation Office and administering the construction contract, according to Greeley.
According to Imperiale, the upgrades to the bridge will be done in stages and using what he called intermittent or rolling lane closures.
He explained, “We work on basically part of the joint at a time.”
As for an expected timeline county officials have for starting the project, Imperiale said that construction probably would not begin until March or April 2008.