RUMSON – The 70-year old Oceanic Bridge, which engineers say is in advanced disrepair, is going to need an estimated $653,650 in additional work and will be closed for three weeks immediately after the Memorial Day weekend.
After undergoing repair work and having been closed overnights since earlier this month, the bridge will be closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic—but not marine traffic—from Tuesday, May 26 through Tuesday, June 12, according to Laura Kirkpatrick, Monmouth County spokeswoman.
Officials decided to wait until after the Memorial Day weekend before proceeding with the three-week project.
In addition, preparation work will require the bridge’s closing from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. from Wednesday, May 13 through Friday, May 15 and Monday, May 18 through Thursday, May 21, according to the county.
The overall cost of the bridge repair is an estimated $2.7 million.
The work that was being done involved repairing concrete and steel structures on the aging and badly deteriorating drawbridge that spans the Navesink River, connecting Rumson to the Locust section of Middletown. The workers were cleaning and removing structural plates and steel angles when they uncovered two of the bridge’s four main bearings were damaged, which wouldn’t have been discovered otherwise, according to Ettore.
The issue with these bearings, the engineer said, is that it supports the bridge’s bascule span and flanking span on the bridge approaches. These bearings “support all of the weight from the main girders,” for the spans, he said. “They carry a tremendous amount of load for these two spans and carry that load down to the foundation,” Ettore said.
This most recent needed work is essential given the bridge’s condition, Ettore stressed, when he addressed the Board of Chosen Freeholders at the board’s workshop, April 22. “In my opinion it is in an advanced stage of disrepair,” the engineer told the freeholders.
Ettore explained the strategy is to do sufficient work to the structure so it will be able to last for another five to seven years, as county officials work with federal transportation representatives to formulate a plan for a future bridge replacement project.
Steve Bidgood is the managing partner of the Salt Creek Grille, a Bingham Avenue restaurant that literally backs up to the Oceanic Bridge. “It’s never an opportune time for them to close it obviously,” Bidgood said, with a nod to the protracted closure that occurred in fall 2011-spring 2012 for extensive repair work that caused considerable anxiety for business owners in both sides of the Navesink River as well as drivers who were detoured through either Red Bank or Sea Bright. “But it’s not the full swing of summer yet,” and the busy warm weather, Bidgood observed. “And it’s better to be closed for a few weeks now than it be down for a lot longer if something breaks or if anybody gets hurt.”
The Oceanic Bridge, officially Monmouth County Bridge S31, at 2,752-feet-long is the county’s largest drawbridge.
— By John Burton
