New, steel-girder bridge is a single span of 100 feet and includes two 12-foot-wide lanes, two 8-foot-wide shoulders, and one 6-foot-wide sidewalk
By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
Much to the delight of Valley residents and area commuters, the $3 million job of rebuilding the 79-year-old bridge across Stony Brook on Route 654 is complete.
The bridge — located in Hopewell Township about a mile and a half west of Hopewell Borough — had been closed since Jan. 10 and reopened Nov. 1.
The job was finished on Oct. 26, a month ahead of schedule.
On Nov. 1, Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes was joined by Hopewell Township Mayor Vanessa Sandom, Mercer County Freeholder Elizabeth Muoio, who is a Pennington resident, and officials from the county’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the bridge.
”We’re very pleased the county has finished its work on the Route 654 bridge, and in record time, too,” Mayor Sandom said.
”I’m extremely pleased to open this bridge again for use a full month ahead of schedule,” said Mr. Hughes. “Our Department of Transportation works diligently on every project to ensure the job gets done right and to minimize the inconvenience to the residents.”
The bridge carries Route 654, also known as Pennington-Hopewell Road, over Stony Brook. The bridge, originally constructed in 1928, was 97 feet long at that time.
A routine July 2005 inspection found the bridge to be “structurally deficient,” with a 26.6 sufficiency rating out of 100, county officials said.
The new, steel-girder bridge is a single span of 100 feet and includes two 12-foot-wide lanes, two 8-foot-wide shoulders, and one 6-foot-wide sidewalk.
The project was completed by Rencor Inc., of Somerville, at the low bid price of $2,948,270.