RHS Bridge Could be Open Saturday, Permanent Fix Scheduled for Next Week

Ridgewood school officials are hoping some temporary repairs to the footbridge on Friday will meet engineering standards to allow for pedestrian traffic on Lax Day, held this Saturday.

According to Superintendent Daniel Fishbein, the district will be performing a load test on Friday and if all goes well, the bridge will reopen for Saturday before permanent repairs begin on Monday.

In a statement released by the district on Wednesday, officials said repairs to strengthen eroding footings are expected to last from April 23-30. An to finally reopen the well-traveled cut-thru between the athletic fields to pedestrians and vehicles under 4,000 lbs.

The bridge has been after engineers found the structure had decayed since an initial report in 2009. District officials but were .

In the statement issued Wednesday, the district said construction methods have not been finalized and noted a strong possibility "a crane will be on site to lift the bridge off the supports to facilitate repairs. During the repair time, the bridge will be closed to all traffic."

Though the selected plan was the most cost-efficient and logistically feasible option presented by engineers, the bridge will not be raised in height. As a result, flooding problems will likely continue at the pass between Stevens and RHS Staidum fields.