The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The Delaware & Raritan Canal bridge on Amwell Road could be closed until the end of February, the state’s transportation chief said Jan. 16.
State officials abruptly closed the bridge – which spans between East Millstone and Millstone – on Jan. 16 after it was determined that oversized trucks were further damaging the already-damaged bridge infrastructure.
According to a release from the state Department of Transportation, temporary repairs were made to the bridge last summer in anticipating of the bridge being replaced, and the bridge was included on the state’s “structurally deficient” list.
A monitoring device was installed on the bridge’s underside to track the weight of autos and trucks using it.
The bridge’s maximum weight was dropped to 14 tons, but the monitoring device showed that trucks as heavy as 40 tons were using the bridge, according to the release.
The heavy trucks caused “an unsafe and excessive movement of the superstructure,” according to the release.
“Although temporary repair measures were put in place, our engineers are concerned that those repairs are no longer adequate and overweight trucks continue to cross the bridge,” DOT Commissioner Jamie Fox said in the release. “Our only option now is to close the bridge to avert a potential disaster. We will be moving on more permanent repairs immediately and hope to have the bridge open to traffic by the end of February.”
A detour has been established while the work is ongoing: Elizabeth Avenue (County Route 621) to School House Road, to Weston Canal Road to Weston Causeway to Millstone River Road (CR 533).
