Belleville Bridge Work Ends; Nutley Construction Begins

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — As one major bridge repair effort ends in the Belleville-Nutley area, another begins.

Essex County officials recently announced that the “modernization” of the Mill Street Bridge in Belleville has been completed and the roadway was reopened on Thursday, June 21, two months ahead of schedule. (See more details below)

Meanwhile, an effort to replace the 122-year-old Centre Street Bridge in Nutley with a “modern structure” will kick off Wednesday, June 27 and will last about six months.

CENTRE STREET BRIDGE IN NUTLEY

According to Essex County officials, the Centre Street Bridge has been classified as "structurally deficient" and a weight limit of 15 tons was recently posted because of its deteriorating condition. The original single span brick arch with ashlar spandrel walls and abutments was built about 1896. Reinforced concrete wingwalls were added to the structure in 1929 and the current concrete parapet and gabion wall were installed in 1965 after the north spandrel wall and parapet failed.

Officials said:

“The new structure will be constructed of a precast concrete arch with precast concrete wingwalls that will be supported by cast-in-place concrete footings and pedestals. There will be two travel lanes - one in either direction - for motor vehicles and sidewalks for pedestrians. The dimensions will be virtually identical to the original structure: a clear span length of 42 feet, a roadway width of approximately 46 feet, and a total bridge width of 66 feet.”

Officials added:

“To maintain the historic character and existing setting in Essex County Yanticaw Park and Nutley Booth Park, the concrete color for the new bridge was set by the NJ Historic Preservation Office. A stone formliner will be used to construct the arch spandrel walls and the parapet walls, the existing ornamental fence will be removed and reset, and an interpretive sign will be installed to inform residents and visitors of the history of the crossing and the Yanticaw-Booth Historic District. In addition, 48 new trees will be planted in the adjacent parkland.”

During construction, Centre Street will be closed to vehicular traffic and motorists will be detoured around the area via Joralemon Street and Vreeland Avenue. Pedestrian access across the Third River will be provided via a walking bridge in Yanticaw Park, Essex County officials said.

The posted detour around the Centre Street Bridge was developed in cooperation with the Nutley Police Department. The "local detour route" will take motor vehicles north along Franklin Avenue, turning onto Vreeland Avenue and then turning onto Passaic Avenue. The "truck detour route" is south along Franklin Avenue, turning onto Joralemon Street and then turning onto Union Avenue.

KS Engineers from Newark was awarded a professional services contract for $242,425 to design the project. Pillari Brothers Construction Corp. from Farmingdale was awarded a publicly bid contract for $2,879,230 to perform the construction work. The Essex County Department of Public Works will monitor the project. The bridge replacement is being funded with a grant from the NJ Department of Transportation's Local Bridges Future Needs Grant Program.

Work is scheduled to begin on June 27 and be completed by Dec. 2018.

“We have had a lot of discussions about this bridge because we are concerned about the impact it will have on our downtown when it is closed, we are concerned about the detour and we are concerned about maintaining the historical character of the bridge structure,” Nutley Mayor Joseph Scarpelli said.

“[Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr.] has a great track record of getting projects done, and we are looking forward to seeing this reopened on time," Scarpelli stated.

"Replacing the Centre Street Bridge is a complex project because it's located in the heart of Downtown Nutley and provides critical access through the township,” DiVincenzo said. “Closing the road will be disruptive, but it will enable the work to progress more quickly than if the replacement was done in stages. We understand the hardship being placed on residents and businesses and believe this will minimize the impact.”

MILL STREET BRIDGE IN BELLEVILLE

Meanwhile, the modernization of the Mill Street Bridge in Belleville has been completed and the roadway was reopened on Thursday, June 21. The project was completed two months ahead of schedule, Essex County officials said.

In the latest inspection report, the bridge was described as being functionally obsolete because the dimensions of the bridge were too small to meet current design standards, officials stated.

Located near the intersection of Mill Street and Montgomery Street, the new bridge is constructed with steel stringers and a reinforced concrete deck, sidewalks and parapets. To meet current design standards, the roadway was widened so that the travel lanes in both directions are 16-feet wide. The original concrete and steel structure crossing the Second River was constructed in 1942.

Area Engineering, Inc. from Hopewell was awarded a $235,000 contract to design the new bridge. Sparwick Contracting, Inc. from Lafayette was awarded a publicly bid contract for $633,092 to perform the construction work. The Essex County Department of Public Works monitored the project. Funding came from the NJ Department of Transportation's Local Bridges Future Needs Grant Program.

Construction was originally scheduled to last six months, but it was completed in just four months. During construction, the bridge was completely closed and traffic was detoured around the area, officials said.

“The Mill Street Bridge was an example of a bridge that had to be replaced because it was built during an earlier time and was creating problems because it did not meet current design standards,” DiVincenzo said.

"This is a great project for Belleville and we look forward to working with the county executive on future improvements for our residents," Mayor-Elect Michael Melham said.

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Photos: Essex County