ICYMI: Major Morris County Bridge To Be Replaced, Create 3.5-Mile Detour

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MORRIS TWP., N.J. – A bridge that sees 17,000 vehicles per day is about to get a much-needed reconstruction, but in doing so motorists will have to take a 3.5-mile detour.

From July 8 to 12 the Mendham Road Bridge in Morris Township, which runs over a tributary of the Whippany River on Route 510, will undergo a complete replacement. The project is being conducted by Konkus Corporation of Chester for a county-funded $1.62 million.

The detour will take motorists around Washington Valley Road to Whitehead Road to Mendham Road.
“We realize this is a heavily traveled road and closing the bridge will cause an inconvenience for many drivers, but it is vital to make sure we replace this bridge and ensure that we have a safe structure for our county residents,’’ said Freeholder John Cesaro, the county governing board’s liaison on road and bridge issues.

Mendham Road Bridge was built in 1898 and was widened in 1950. It’s currently a single span structure with steel stringers and a reinforced arch deck with masonry stone substructures.
The existing structure is 13 feet long and 49 feet wide and has rust and a section loss of the steel stringers with cracks throughout the asphalt roadway, and there is undermining of the foundations.

The new structure will be a precast concrete arch, and the bridge parapets will be stone-faced with a bluestone coping.