Pipes underneath Brewers Bridge Road in Jackson must be replaced, and in order to complete the work the road may have to be closed for three weeks. A detour will be established for motorists in conjunction with the closing of the road.
“Brewers Bridge Road is in need of a significant repair,” Jackson Business Administrator Phil Del Turco said at the Feb. 23 meeting of the Jackson Township Council. “The repairs will be partially funded by Ocean County through a state Department of Transportation [DOT] grant.”
Township Engineer Dan Burke and Jackson Police Officer Pat Mackin of the Traffic and Safety Division explained the situation to the members of the governing body and the public.
“About a year ago we applied for a DOT grant for improvements to Brewers Bridge Road from County Line Road to the Metedeconk River Bridge,” Burke said. “As many of you are aware, there is failing pavement down by the bridge and that creates a traffic problem.”
Burke said there have been two pipe failures in drainage lines that were installed by the county several years ago. He said the county has agreed to fund the replacement of its pipe under this section of the road.
The pipe in need of repair is 36 inches in diameter and made of corrugated aluminum. It will be replaced with a reinforced concrete pipe.
Burke said the nature of the repair means that Brewers Bridge Road has to be closed, possibly for three weeks. He said the county engineer and the Jackson police agreed with his assessment in order to provide for the safety of the people who will be doing the work and the public who would otherwise be driving through a hazardous construction site.
He said Brewers Bridge Road will be accessible for the people who live on the road (about 10 homes) and for the businesses that are close to the County Line Road intersection.
The road will be paved to complete the project.
Burke noted that there have been road collapses and said the project must be completed.
Council President Mike Kafton said there is no easy detour for motorists in this area.
Mackin said it would not be advisable to detour traffic through the narrow residential streets in that area of Jackson.
“We have already consulted with Lakewood and the possibility of using North Hope Chapel Road,” the officer said. “When their road was closed they sent people down our roads for their detour, and now we will return the favor. That is a lot safer and it is a shorter route.”
Mackin said he is still open to ideas about a detour and said he will work with Burke to reach a final decision. He said public safety is more important than any inconvenience the road closing may cause.
Burke told council members, “We do not have a start date [for the project], but we will discuss it with the school district’s transportation director. We may have to push it until after school is out. I have an obligation under the grant to get this project under contract.
“If I don’t get it under contract within the terms of the grant, we stand to lose the $285,000 DOT grant. I am not willing to take that risk, so I am pushing to get this out to bid, which I would like to do next month. We hope to put it out to contract no later than May. After that, it may be 30 to 60 days to get it under construction,” he added.
The council members voted 5-0 to permit the closing of Brewers Bridge Road in order to accommodate the planned road improvement project.