A structurally-deficient bridge on South Branch Road in Branchburg is being replaced beginning on July 6, 2016.
BRANCHBURG - A portion of South Branch Road is expected to be closed beginning Wednesday for a bridge replacement project.
The road will be closed from just north of the intersection with Pleasant Run Road. Traffic will be detoured down Pleasant Run Road to Route 625 (which changes name from River Road to Opie Road and back to River Road), to Studdiford Drive and then to South Branch Road. The project is expected to take four months, according to township officials.
The bridge was first opened in 1924 and, in 1981, it's superstructure was replaced with glued and laminated timber stringers, transverse timber deck panels and timber railings.
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The current overall condition of the structure is poor because of the condition of the original concrete substructure, according to a news release. The bridge will be replaced with a single span, multi-stringer steel beam superstructure with reinforced concrete deck, supported on concrete abutments.
The new bridge railing will consist of a 4-bar steel railing with concrete end pylons.
The roadway width across the bridge will be widened to 36 feet, providing two 12-foot lanes with 6-foot shoulders.