Deemed structurally deficient by the state, the Oak Tree Road bridge is slated for improvements. KATHY CHANG Edison Township officials and the public agree — the state Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Oak Tree Road/Conrail bridge project has been a long time coming.
“I’m happy that this is being done … it’s a long, long, long time overdue,” resident Esther Nemitz said.
The Township Council on Feb. 13 voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to approve the DOT’s $1 million proposal of a cross section on the bridge, consisting of one travel lane in each direction, with an adjoining shoulder of sufficient width to be used as a travel lane should future conditions warrant, and sidewalks in each direction of Oak Tree Road.
In April 2012, the DOT proposed the replacement of the bridge to township and Middlesex County officials. The funds for the project are in the DOT’s fiscal year 2011 transportation capital program.
The DOT determined that the bridge is “structurally deficient and functionally obsolete.” Its structural deficiency resulted in its designation as an “orphan bridge” by the DOT. Officials said the bridge must be widened due to increased traffic volume and to meet the wider width of the approach roadway. The bridge acts as a link between South Plainfield and Woodbridge townships.
The Oak Tree Road bridge carries County Road 604 — known as Oak Tree Road — over the Conrail Lehigh Valley Railroad Line.
The bridge currently has one lane in each direction, and Township Attorney Karl Kemm said the county originally wanted two lanes in each direction, but the final decision by the DOT stated that the shoulder would be sufficient space as a second lane.
Council President Robert Karabinchak asked why the state didn’t comply with the request to make the bridge two lanes in each direction. John Medina, the township’s director of planning and engineering, said it came down to economics for the DOT.
“They did not have the funding,” he said. “The county had voted not to support the project because of their concern for two lanes, but as I understand, the added shoulder has been determined to be adequate space as a second lane.”
Kemm added that in the future, if a decision is made to create a second lane, it will be possible because of the shoulder.
Medina said the bridge will be built in stages to avoid having to close the road during construction. The time frame on construction has yet to be set.
Since the bridge will include sidewalks on both sides, the project, Medina said, ties in with the township’s sidewalk improvements for Harding Avenue and Woodland Avenue, up to the Edison Valley Playhouse along Oak Tree Road.
The municipality, according to the resolution, supports the project as a way of enhancing traffic safety and improving mobility, thereby improving the quality of life for residents and visitors to Edison and the county.