'Deteriorating' Bridge In Millburn Is Finally Repaired

MILLBURN, NJ — Essex County is nearly finished with an effort to replace four culverts and crossings in the region, and just finished a project in Millburn, the county announced earlier this month.

Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. met Nov. 4 to cut the ribbon on the Marion Avenue Culvert in Millburn.

A recent inspection report concluded the culvert, originally constructed in 1962, needed to be replaced because its condition was deteriorating, the county said in a release this month.

The 27-foot-wide culvert carries two lanes of traffic, one lane in each direction.

Work stared in July and was completed in September, the county said.

Cutting the ceremonial ribbon to dedicate the culvert on July 4., along with DiVincenzo, were Essex County Tree Supervisor Michael Droz, Essex County Principal Traffic Engineer Isaac Ojeda, Millburn Mayor Maggee Miggins, and other officials.

Here are the other three crossings that are either under repair or were recently repaired:

Locust Avenue Bridge in Bloomfield (Locust Avenue) – The two-lane bridge crosses over Lloyd Brook and was originally built in 1930 and rehabilitated in 1975. The old bridge was in a deteriorating condition and exhibited substantial rust. The 30-foot-wide bridge will be replaced with a similarly constructed structure.

Lakeside Avenue Bridge in West Orange (Lakeside Avenue) – A recent inspection report concluded the culvert, originally constructed in 1920, needed to be replaced because its condition was deteriorating. The 36-foot-wide culvert carries two lanes of traffic, with one lane of traffic heading in each direction. The new structure will be a steel stringer and brick masonry jack arch supported on stone masonry abutments and will be similarly designed like the old one. Work started in August and was completed in less than three months.

Mitchell Street Culvert in Orange (Mitchell Street) – The two-lane bridge crosses the East Branch of the Rahway River and was constructed about 1930. This bridge was described as structurally deficient because of the bad condition of the two-lane roadway and substructure. The 30-foot-wide bridge will be replaced with a similarly constructed structure.

“While these improvement projects may not be flashy, they are a very important component of increased safety for pedestrians and motorists within our communities,” Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill said.

According to the county executive’s office:

“The Locust Avenue Bridge, Mitchell Street Culvert and Marion Avenue Culvert were packaged together in the same project, along with the Freeman Street Culvert over Foulerton’s Brook in Roseland. French and Parrello was awarded a professional services contract to design the improvements to the four culverts and provide construction inspection services on the project. A publicly bid contract for $2,878,204 was awarded to Grade Construction from Paterson to replace the four culverts. The culvert improvements were funded with a grant from the NJ Department of Transportation Local Aid Program.”

• See related article: $1 Billion Coming To Fix 480 NJ Bridges In 'Poor Condition'

Local editor Eric Kiefer contributed to this story.