Busy Nutley Bridge Reopened In Time For Holidays

NUTLEY, NJ — Essex County residents who travel in Nutley got a holiday treat earlier this week: the reopening of the Centre Street Bridge.

A $2.87 million repair effort kicked off last summer after the 122-year-old bridge was rated “structurally deficient.” It was reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic on Christmas Eve.

“The Centre Street Bridge is located in the heart of Nutley and provides critical access to the Downtown District,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said. “We are pleased that we were able to work with our contractor to reopen the bridge before the end of the year and keep our promise to the residents of Nutley.”

DiVincenzo said that county officials knew people would be inconvenienced by the construction, and they appreciate residents’ patience and understanding.

“Centre Street is a main thoroughfare in town and reopening the street will make access to our downtown a lot easier,” Nutley Mayor Joseph Scarpelli said.

According to county officials, the Centre Street Bridge was classified as "structurally deficient" and a weight limit of 15 tons has been 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 a concrete parapet and gabion wall were installed in 1965 after the north spandrel wall and parapet failed.

Officials released some details about the newly revamped bridge:

“The new structure is constructed of a precast concrete arch with precast concrete wingwalls that are supported by cast-in-place concrete footings and pedestals. There are two travel lanes - one in either direction - for motor vehicles and sidewalks for pedestrians. The dimensions are 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. In the spring, the roadway will be milled and a permanent pavement will be installed.”

Essex County officials said that as part of an effort 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 New Jersey Historic Preservation Office.

The masonry work will be stained in the spring. A stone formliner was used to construct the arch spandrel walls and the parapet walls, the existing ornamental fence was 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 in the spring of 2019, officials said.

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 monitored the project.

The bridge replacement was funded with a grant from the NJ Department of Transportation's Local Bridges Future Needs Grant Program, officials said.

• See related article: New Jersey Has 596 Structurally Deficient Bridges

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Belleville-Nutley Facebook page here.

Main Photo: Essex County