County Freeholders Set To Act On Six Mile Run Bridge Replacement

The Somerset County Freeholders on Aug. 23 are expected to approve the plans for replacement of the Six Mile Run bridge on South Middlebush Road.

Update: The Freeholders approved the plans and authorized receipt of bids for the project.

Original: Replacement of the Six Mile Run bridge on South Middlebush Road is expected to be brought closer to reality at the Somerset County Freeholder’s Aug. 23 meeting.

The Freeholders are expected to approve the plans and authorize the acceptance of bids for the replacement of the bridge, parts of which date back to 1918.

The bridge is currently listed as functionally obsolete, with “scour critical” abutments that could be unstable.

The county is expected to put the project out for bid in the fall and, once started, the project is expected to last about three months and will require a road closure, said county engineer Matthew Loper.

“Somerset County is proposing to replace the South Middlebush Road Bridge over Six Mile Run with a 28-foot single-span structure comprised of stress laminated glue-laminated timber superstructure with timber railings on concrete abutments with stone veneer similar to the current structure,” he said in an email. “The roadway width will be widened by 6 feet at the bridge and tapered to meet the existing roadway width at each approach.”

“Full roadway closure of South Middlebush Road will be necessary for the replacement of the bridge,” Loper wrote. “A posted detour will utilize State Route 27 for the north/south direction. Incentive/disincentive clauses have been included in the contract that will likely expedite the completion timeline.”

A web site will be created for the project, and located at http://www.co.somerset.nj.us/government/public-works/engineering.

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