HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP: Resident appeals new bridge OK

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
   A Hopewell Township resident has appealed to the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court the state Department of Environmental Protection’s July approval of Mercer County’s controversial design for a new bridge on Bear Tavern Road over Jacob’s Creek and for changes to Bear Tavern Road in the vicinity of the bridge.
   A notice of appeal from the state judiciary states the appeal was filed by Maddock Road resident Mary Jane Cooper. Ms. Cooper was one of the many area residents who publicly opposed the county plan.
   She signed the notice of appeal Aug. 27.
   Ms. Cooper, whose Maddock Road is near the bridge site, did not respond to an email or phone messages requesting comment on why she filed the appeal and what she is seeking through the appeal process.
   A spokesperson for Mercer County said Tuesday morning that, notwithstanding Ms. Cooper’s appeal, the county is moving forward with its plans for the two new bridges.
   ”That case is between a resident and the state,” said spokesperson Julie Wilmot. “Mercer County plans to move forward and is nearing final design of the two bridges — Jacobs Creek Road over Ewing Creek and Bear Tavern Road over Jacobs Creek.”
   In a section of the notice of appeal, called “title in full,” is the subject of Ms. Cooper’s action — “replacement of Bear Tavern Road bridge over Jacob’s Creek; replacement of Jacobs Creek Road bridge over Ewing Creek; Bear Tavern Road/Jacobs Creek Road crossing rural district.”
   The intense, prolonged outcry against the county plan focused minimally on the bridge over Ewing Creek. It was the bridge over Jacob’s Creek and the changes to Bear Tavern Road near the bridge that drew most of the protest against the county plan.
   DEP spokesman Larry Hanja responded to Ms. Cooper’s appeal Monday by saying, “The DEP and Historic Sites Council spent a lot of time on this.”
   He said the council, comprised of experts on historic preservation, is an advisory group that conferred with the DEP on the bridge issue. Mr. Hanja said that, because the matter is in litigation, the DEP would not comment any further on it.
   The county plan calls for a bridge to cross Jacobs Creek just north of Bear Tavern Road’s T-intersection with Jacobs Creek Road. The county plan — approved by DEP Commissioner Robert Martin, a resident of Hopewell Township — calls for replacement of that intersection with a new road alignment.
   The state’s Historic Preservation Office (part of the DEP) — one of many government agencies that has been involved with this issue — had recommended the T-intersection be preserved.
   The new road alignment that will replace that intersection was a particularly hot issue with local opponents of the county plan. They said alignment would have too great an impact on the historic area.
   Commissioner Martin said the road realignment is needed — instead of the T-intersection — because of the heavy amount of traffic on the roads approaching the bridge.
   ”Mercer County is extremely pleased by the department’s decision, and we appreciate the hard work of that office, the governor, Hopewell Township and all the other agencies involved in reaching this conclusion,” said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes after Commissioner Martin’s approval of the county plan.
   He added, “After many years of discourse, we have been able to take the concerns of our freeholder board, DEP and the residents and create what we believe is a bridge and roadway safety project that is respectful to the historic district and supports today’s traffic and expected growth of Hopewell Township.”
   The bridge over Jacob’s Creek is slated to go near the site where the Continental Army forded Jacobs Creek on the way to the Battle of Trenton, a turning point of the American Revolution.
   The new bridge will have no weight limit. The last bridge on the site — removed due to damage from Hurricane Irene — had a 3-ton limit.
   Prior to its removal after the hurricane, the county Department of Transportation had closed the bridge Sept. 24, 2009, “for an indefinite period of time” due to “urgent safety concerns.” It never was reopened.
   Mr. Hughes ordered the closing of the bridge “based on findings by an independent engineering firm contracted by the New Jersey Department of Transportation to inspect county bridges.”
   IH Engineers of Princeton had determined the bridge had been stressed to such a degree the firm believed safe passage of vehicles heavier than the 3-ton posted limit could not be guaranteed.
   In its report, HI recommended immediate closure of the bridge, officials said.
   At the time of its closing, the county had plans to replace the then-existing bridge “with a new bridge that would be built to modern standards.”
   The existing structure was slated to be preserved, restored and relocated to Alliger Park. The new plan would place the structure at Howell Farm.
   Back in 2004, a task force — including officials of Hopewell Township and Mercer County along with several township residents — recommended rehabilitating the bridge instead of replacing it.
   Rehabilitating the bridge, it was said, “would eliminate the risk of structural collapse, permit passage of all emergency service vehicles and school buses and retain the scenic value of the existing bridge and its rural surroundings. The job would entail widening the bridge, increasing the height of its overhead girders and provide new structural underpinning.”
   The condition of the bridge and its future often were topics of discussion among township officials and residents during many years prior to 2004.
   Built in 1882, the iron truss Jacobs Creek bridge was, in 2004, one of six spans of its type still in use in New Jersey. It was designated a historic site by Hopewell Township in 2001.