Motorists will face a narrowing of the twin bridges to one lane in each direction for up to eight months, officials said. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The heavily traveled Newman Springs Road/Route 520 bridges linking Red Bank and Lincroft are in for a belt-tightening.

The four-lane connectors between Parkway exit 109 and points east will be narrowed to one lane in each direction for up to eight months during repairs, Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone announced in a press release late Wednesday.

Work is scheduled to start on or soon after April 1, with vehicular traffic pared to two lanes for the duration, and pedestrian usage banned, according to the announcement. Weather permitting, the job is expected to wrap up in late November.

The work is necessary to replace the road surfaces of the Swimming River spans, Arnone said.

“Deterioration of the bridge surface over the past four decades has significantly advanced to the point that the entire deck needs to be replaced,” Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone said. “While the work is critical, we know that it is not practical to take this bridge out of use or create an effective detour.”

The existing concrete decks on both bridges will be completely removed and in their places will be new concrete decks of the same dimensions. Work will also be completed on each of the bridge approaches as well as the curbs and the sidewalks. When finished, all work will meet current design standards.

The project is expected to conclude in late November, weather permitting.

“The replacement work will extend the usable life of this 42-year-old bridge,” Freeholder Director Arnone said. “This bridge is an important link that connects Red Bank and Tinton Falls to Middletown.”

The work will conducted by Rencor, Inc. of Somerville, NJ for a total contract amount of $2,114,109. The State’s Annual Transportation Trust Fund is providing the funding for the project.

The contract also includes the rehabilitation of the Branchport Avenue Bridge (E-20) at Branchport Creek between Long Branch and Oceanport. The scope of this project includes repairs to the existing bridge deck including performing miscellaneous deck, sidewalk and curb spall repairs and the construction of a latex modified concrete overlay on existing bridge deck.

This Branchport Avenue project is expected to begin in April and be substantially complete by Memorial Day weekend.

In the area of the bridge, the roadway will be closed to vehicular traffic, but open to pedestrian traffic,
All work shall be substantially complete before Memorial Day weekend.

The county’s Department of Public Works and Engineering is overseeing the project.