The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Replacement of the Route 518 bridge at Canal Road is expected to be finished by the end of February, but that date, unlike the bridge, is not set in stone.
Work is progressing on the project, but winter weather could play havoc with the time frame, said Stephen Schapiro, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The $2.75 million bridge replacement project was supposed to have been completed by the end of the summer of 2016. But work was stopped on July 8, several days after demolition began, as a result of the June 30, 2016 Executive Order signed by Gov. Chris Christie. That order halted all Transportation Trust Fund-funded road projects not deemed essential.
Nothing was done on the project until the end of November, after a gasoline tax increase was signed into law by Christie.
Read more about the 518 bridge work here, here, here, and here.
Now, nearly two months after the restart, work is well underway on the bridge that connects the township to Rocky Hill, Schapiro said.
“The project is progressing with the demolition work complete, as well as the reconstruction of the east abutment,” he said in an email. “Work on the west abutment is underway. Once that is complete, beams will need to be set, the deck formed and then poured.”
“Following completion of the deck, there will be curb work, installation of the sidewalk, railing, guiderail, paving the approaches and striping,” he said.
