RUMSON — Monmouth County officials announced last week that more extensive repairs are needed to the Oceanic Bridge and will require the bridge to be closed for more than three weeks beginning after Memorial Day.
The structural steel and concrete deck repair work completed in April revealed the need for additional significant repair work, county officials said.
“The county’s current Oceanic Bridge repair project has revealed deterioration in two areas not readily or previously accessible,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering.
Two of the bridge’s four main bearings need to be repaired. The bearings are part of the mechanism that supports the bascule and flanking spans on the bridge approaches.
“The nature of the work requires that the bridge load be relieved by lifting the bascule and approach spans off the bearing,” County Engineer Joseph Ettore said. “To accomplish this, the Oceanic Bridge must be closed to motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic.”
The bridge will be closed to all but marine traffic from May 26 through June 12. For marine traffic, seasonal rules and scheduling will be in effect.
“Monmouth County has worked with the contractor, local officials and business leaders to set a schedule that gets this work done prior to the height of the tourism season,” Arnone said. “We are holding off the start of the work until after the Memorial Day weekend.”
County representatives met with local officials, business owners and educational representatives to discuss scheduling options for the work. The post-Memorial Day closing for the three-week repair project was the best of the options, according to Arnone.
“Our concern was that if the work began in mid-May, it would not be completed for the Memorial Day weekend,” Arnone said. “The post-Memorial Day around-the-clock work schedule reflects a mid-June completion date.”
Materials for the repairs have been ordered, with delivery expected on May 13. Preparation work will then commence and continue on weekdays through May 21.
The preparation work may require full overnight closures of the Oceanic Bridge, weather permitting, from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. May 13-15 and May 18-21.
The bridge will be open to all traffic May 22 through Memorial Day, May 25.
“It is prudent to lift the bridge spans and perform the repairs to all four of the bearings,” Ettore said. “The bearings in need of immediate repair are on the eastern side of the bridge, but the county is also going to repair the bearings on the western side of the bridge.
“The limits of the additional deterioration were unknown when the project began and have become evident during the cleaning and preparation process for the repairs as originally planned,” Ettore said. “The bearing work must be completed to maintain public safety and the use of the Oceanic Bridge.”
The county has authorized Harms Construction Co. Inc. of Howell to continue work on the structure that spans the Navesink River and connects Rumson to Middletown. Harms’ crews will be working 24 hours a day in two shifts of 12 hours each to have the work completed by June 12.
The Board of Chosen Freeholders authorized $653,650 for the repairs at the April 24 meeting.
Detours will be posted. Motorists may want to plan an alternate route. Motor vehicle traffic on Bingham Avenue between Rumson and Middletown should travel east and north through Sea Bright and Highlands to Middletown, according to the county. Motor vehicle traffic on Navesink River Road and Locust Point Road in Middletown should travel east and south through Middletown, Highlands and Sea Bright to Rumson.
The 2,712-foot drawbridge crosses the Navesink River and serves beach, commercial and residential traffic, as well as pedestrian and bicycle travel. It is also a key route for coastal evacuations and emergency vehicles headed to hospitals or providing mutual aid. The bridge has been classified as structurally deficient.
Built in 1939, the Oceanic Bridge has deteriorated due to decades of exposure to saltwater and from accommodating heavier vehicles and traffic volumes than for which it was designed.
In 2012, extensive work was completed to rehabilitate the bridge’s 100-foot, center bascule span, allowing motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to continue use of the bridge.
Monmouth County received notification from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority in January that $600,000 in federal funding was available to perform a Concept Development Study for the replacement or rehabilitation of the Oceanic Bridge.
“As the years have gone on, maintaining this bridge has become more costly and difficult,” said Arnone, a member of the authority’s board. “This grant will allow us to look to the future and take steps toward building a better bridge, one that will stand up to the extreme coastal storms we’ll face and serve our modern travel needs.”
Plans call for replacement of the Oceanic Bridge within the next 10 years.