Bakers Basin Road will be closed for the next four months while the two-lane bridge over the Shipetaukin Creek is replaced, according to Mercer County officials.
The project called for replacing the bridge, which was reconstructed in 1937, because it has been deemed structurally deficient, Mercer County officials said. The bridge is maintained by the county.
The existing bridge is 27 feet wide. The new bridge will be 40 feet wide, while it will include a five-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side. The approach to the bridge will be widened, too.
Midlantic Construction LLC, which is based in Barnegat, was awarded a $1.6 million contract for the project by the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders. The seven bids ranged from Midlantic Construction LLC’s low bid of $1.6 million to as much as $2.9 million.
Meanwhile, detours have been set up for motorists who use Bakers Basin Road.
The detour for Bakers Basin Road eastbound is Route 1 North to Grovers Mill Road, right onto Quakerbridge Road and then onto Lawrence Station Road.
For Bakers Basin Road westbound, the detour is Quakerbridge Road to Route 1 South to Franklin Corner Road.
Motorists who want to reach the Lawrence Township Department of Public Works, local businesses or the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park walking path, will have access up to the closure on either side of the bridge. The motorists will not be able to cross the Shipetaukin Creek.