Replacement of County Bridge in Rockaway Township to Start Next Week

Published on October 23, 2019

Bridge Crosses Chestnut Terrace -- Detour Required

Construction is scheduled to start on or about Monday, Oct. 28,to replace the small Chestnut Terrace bridge in Rockaway Township. The county owned span will be closed to traffic and a 1.5-mile detour will be in place for about 60 days.

(JPG, 2MB) Photo shows steel plate inserted over settled portion of the roadway

The well-traveled county bridge has had one lane shut down since late last year after a visual inspection of the span turned up some settlement in the roadway. A bridge maintenance crew found several severely deteriorated beams, prompting the county to immediately install a steel plate over the area that settled. Vehicular access was reduced to one lane to keep vehicles off the damaged portion.

Reivax Contracting of Newark is the contractor on the $675,000 project, which is being funded by the county and is being done in coordination with Rockaway Township and Rockaway Borough.

The proposed replacement will consist of a pre-cast structure, with white picket style fencing to be mounted and sidewalks created on both sides of the bridge.

(JPG, 2MB) Photo shows deterioration on underside of bridge

Due to the age of the bridge, a full replacement was considered the most prudent response to the deterioration. The county drafted a request for proposals earlier this year to get a design for a new span done quickly.

Chestnut Terrace Bridge, or county bridge number 1400-889, is a single span structure comprised of several steel beams supported on concrete abutments. The overall structure length is 18 feet and the deck is 39 feet wide.

The structure originally was built in 1971 and received major repairs in 1990. Approximately 1,900 cars utilize this bridge on a daily basis. It is a short distance from Mt. Hope Road.

The 1.5-mile detour(PDF, 53KB) will take motorists on Academy Street, Wall Street and Chestnut Terrace.