Mercer County reopens Carter Road bridge; Route 518 span set for late February (Updated)

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The Carter Road bridge in Lawrence Township, which was in the process of being replaced when Gov. Chris Christie issued a stop-work order in July, was re-opened to traffic this week — four months after work was scheduled to be completed., But work on the Somerset County Route 518 bridge across the Delaware and Raritan Canal, on the border between Rocky Hill Borough and Franklin Township, has not been completed. It is expected to re-open by the end of February., Work on the Carter Road bridge began in mid-April and was slated to be finished by September. The new bridge consists of two 12-foot-wide travel lanes, two 7-foot-wide shoulders and a sidewalk on the west side. It is maintained by Mercer County., The Carter Road bridge, between Route 206 and Van Kirk Road, carries traffic over the Shipetaukin Creek. Work on the $2 million bridge replacement project, which was being funded by the state Transportation Trust Fund, was halted in July while state lawmakers wrangled over how to replenish the fund., On July 8, Gov. Christie ordered the state Department of Transportation to stop work on the Carter Road bridge and other state-funded transportation projects – including the Route 518 bridge – that were deemed “non-essential,” pending an agreement to re-fund the Transportation Trust Fund., Mercer County officials appealed to the state Department of Transportation to allow it to move ahead with the Carter Road bridge project, but the department would not budge. County officials said Carter Road was the designated detour route while two historic bridges on Route 206 in Princeton were slated for repair, beginning in September., Following the appeal, Mercer County officials announced on Sept. 19 that a “notice of claim” had been filed against New Jersey and the Department of Transportation as a precursor to filing litigation against the state for breaching its contractual obligations., However, work on the Carter Road bridge resumed Oct. 17, after Gov. Christie signed a bill to raise the gasoline tax by 23 cents to generate money for the state Transportation Trust Fund., Meanwhile, work on the Route 518 bridge in Somerset County also resumed after the Transportation Trust Fund was renewed in October. The $2.75 million project is being funded by the Transportation Trust Fund.,