$1.7M Grant Awarded For Brick Bridge Replacement

BRICK, NJ — Ocean County is slated to receive more than $1.7 million for a project to replace the Duck Farm Bridge in Brick Township, state officials announced Tuesday.

The $1,723,491 grant was among 39 grants announced by the state Department of Transportation and the only grant announced for Ocean County in the Local Bridge Fund.

"The grants focus on the repair, reconstruction and replacement of bridges with the greatest structural deficiencies," state officials said. They are administered by the transportation department's Division of Local Aid and Economic Development and evaluated by the Department’s Bureau of Structural Engineering.

Duck Farm Bridge is on a portion of Hooper Avenue (often referred to as Old Hooper Avenue) that crosses the Cedar Bridge branch of the Metedeconk River. The bridge is named for a duck farm that once existed on a piece of land at Hooper Avenue and Mantoloking Road. The property is referenced by the Brick Township Historical Society as being home to an unregistered 5,000-gallon still in 1937.

"Each year, Local Aid grants represent a significant portion of the Department of Transportation’s Local System Support, which also includes Municipal Aid, local lead projects, regional planning and project development, and transportation alternatives projects," state officials said.

Ocean County officials began working on plans to replace the bridge in 2018, according to a June 2019 resolution that awarded a $195,449 contract to Van Cleef Engineering Services to design the new bridge.

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