State transportation officials today closed one lane of traffic of Route 206 crossing the historic Stony Brook bridge for emergency repairs. Traffic crossing the bridge will alternate until temporary barriers have been installed.
A parapet collapsed on the southbound side of the historic stone bridge over Stony Brook, just past Quaker Road, near the Hun School and Jasna Plana Country Club. Motorists can expect congestion and delays through the evening commute, the state officials said in an announcement.
Passenger cars are encouraged to use Mercer Road/Princeton Pike as an alternate route while truck traffic should use Route 1 to I-295.
NJDOT’s contractor will install precast concrete barriers on both the northbound and southbound sides of Route 206 over night. Once the barrier is in place, Route 206 will be restored to one lane in each direction. However, the barrier will result in narrow lanes requiring trucks to use Route 1 and I-295 until the emergency repairs are complete.
NJDOT engineers are evaluating the bridge and will design a repair, the announcement said. It is unclear at this time how long it will take to make the repairs. The historic nature of the bridge requires the work must be done using similar construction methods.
NJDOT will be using variable message signs to provide advance notification to motorists of traffic pattern changes associated with the work. The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org<http://www.511nj.org/> for real-time travel information and for NJDOT news follow on Twitter @NJDOT_info<https://twitter.com/NJDOT_info>.
