ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. visited four culverts and bridges on Friday, Nov. 4, to announce that three of the projects were completed and one was underway. The tour included the Locust Avenue Bridge in Bloomfield, where construction was underway, and the Lakeside Avenue Bridge in West Orange, Marion Avenue Culvert in Millburn and the Mitchell Street Culvert in Orange, which were all completed recently.
“Residents rely on our county bridges and roads to get to work, go to school and travel about their daily routines. It has been my ongoing priority to ensure that our infrastructure is up to date, able to meet the growing demands of our community and provide the safest passage for pedestrians and motorists,” DiVincenzo said.
“While these improvement projects may not be flashy, they are a very important component of increased safety for pedestrians and motorists within our communities,” Commissioner Brendan Gill said.
The first stop was at the Locust Avenue Bridge on Locust Avenue in Bloomfield, where work to replace the existing culvert just started. The two-lane bridge crosses over Lloyd Brook and was originally built in 1930 and rehabilitated in 1975. The old bridge was in a deteriorating condition and exhibited substantial rust. The 30-foot-wide bridge will be replaced with a similarly constructed structure.
“There is a big need for these projects. Infrastructure is very important, and the county executive has made this a priority. There is an elementary school right by here, so we are grateful,” Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia said.
The second stop was at the Mitchell Street Culvert on Mitchell Street in Orange. The two-lane bridge crosses the east branch of the Rahway River and was constructed circa 1930. This bridge was described as structurally deficient because of the bad condition of the two-lane roadway and substructure. The 30-foot-wide bridge was replaced with a similarly constructed structure.
“These projects border two municipalities and, on behalf of all the residents of the city of Orange, we thank the county executive for these improvements,” Orange Mayor Dwayne D. Warren said.
The third stop was at the Lakeside Avenue Bridge on Lakeside Avenue in West Orange. A recent inspection report concluded that the culvert, originally constructed in 1920, needed to be replaced because its condition was deteriorating. The 36-foot-wide culvert carries two lanes of traffic, with one lane of traffic heading in each direction. The new structure is a steel stringer and brick masonry jack arch supported on stone masonry abutments and is similarly designed to the old one. Work started in August and was completed in less than three months.
“It’s good to see the county do such quality work, quickly in West Orange. We are grateful for the relationship we have with the county that provides us with needed improvements to benefit our residents,” West Orange Councilman Bill Rutherford said.
The last stop was at the Marion Avenue Culvert on Marion Avenue in Millburn. A recent inspection report concluded the culvert, originally constructed in 1962, needed to be replaced because its condition was deteriorating. The 27-foot-wide culvert carries two lanes of traffic, with one lane of traffic heading in each direction. The new structure is a three-sided culvert similarly designed to the old one. Work started in July and was completed in September.
“The replacement of this culvert will help us tremendously with our infrastructure and waterflow improvement. We are grateful to the county executive and his team for getting this project done for the residents of the township of Millburn,” Millburn Mayor Maggie Miggins said.
The Locust Avenue Bridge, Mitchell Street Culvert and Marion Avenue Culvert were packaged together in the same project, along with the Freeman Street Culvert over Foulerton’s Brook in Roseland. French & Parrello Associates was awarded a professional services contract to design the improvements to the four culverts and provide construction inspection services on the project. A publicly bid contract for $2,878,204 was awarded to Grade Construction from Paterson to replace the four culverts.
The Lakeside Avenue Culvert was a stand-alone project. Mott MacDonald from Iselin was awarded a professional services contract for $236,000 to design the new culvert. Pennoni Associates Inc. from Newark was awarded a $300,000 contract to perform construction inspection services for the Lakeside Avenue Culvert and the Dougal Place Culvert in West Caldwell projects. A publicly bid contract for $537,218 was awarded to Colonnelli Bros. from Hackensack to perform the construction work.
All of the work was funded with grants from the N.J. Department of Transportation Local Aid Program.
Photos Courtesy of Essex County
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