By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
Sections of Amwell Road will be closed for a total period of about six months as the county repairs three different bridges — one of which is considered “structurally deficient.”
From Jan. 6 through about June 19, work will be done on the Amwell Road Bridge over the Neshanic River; the bridge east of Longhill and Wertsville roads; and another bridge west of the intersection of Zion and Amwell roads.
In addition, reconstruction work will be done on a portion of the roadway from the Neshanic River to Longhill Road.
The Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution Dec. 23 to authorize the road closures in order to move forward with the reconstruction. Committeewoman Lisa Nisivoccia was not present at the meeting.
According to Matt Loper, a bridge engineer with Somerset County, plans for this repair work have been in place for a few years, well before the bridge collapse in Minnesota in August 2007 brought bridge reconstruction to the forefront of concerns.
”The purpose is to repair these three bridges that are deteriorated structurally and in need of replacement,” he said. “The (Amwell Road Bridge) was built in 1900. That is very old for bridge standards.”
Over the years, Mr. Loper said, the county has done smaller repair work on the bridges, but has never before undertaken anything of this magnitude with the portions of the road.
The Amwell Road Bridge — the largest of the three, Mr. Loper said — will be closed as of Tuesday with the bridge east of Longhill Road closing the following Monday, Jan. 12.
”We are not closing all three bridges at once,” he said.
The bridge at Longhill Road will take about two months to complete with the bridge at Zion Road taking the subsequent three months.
”These two will not be done simultaneously,” Mr. Loper said. “But for the whole duration, the (Amwell Road) bridge will be closed.”
While the Amwell Road Bridge is closed, Mr. Loper said, a detour will be set up for non-local through traffic to take vehicles out to Route 202 instead of Amwell Road. Vehicles will be detoured from Amwell Road to Route 202 to Pleasant Run Road (CR 629) to River Road, then back to Amwell Road.
Local traffic will be maintained and will be detoured along Wertsville, Zion and Longhill roads for those living between the Neshanic River and Zion Road while the other two bridges are closed.
”We don’t want an influx of trucks and through traffic,” Mr. Loper said.
As for the reconstruction work on the roadway, Mr. Loper said this is being done because of a large amount of accidents in the area due to the sloping of the road.
”In icy conditions, the drainage is bad,” he said.
Mr. Loper said water has been continuing to collect in one spot on the road, generally near the yellow lines, causing icy conditions for drivers.
”We have to drain away from the center,” he said. “This road does not do that. We don’t want the water collecting in one spot.”
The entire project, Mr. Loper said, is being completed by Rencor Inc., of Somerville, at a total cost of $5.2 million. About $2.9 million, which will cover the Amwell Road bridge replacement, is being federally funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

