A rendering from 2012 shows the new bridge, now under construction, in red, just to the north of the existing span. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
This just in from the Monmouth County engineering department Wednesday afternoon:
Beginning tonight, from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m., the bridge on West Front Street over Swimming River will be closed for the delivery and setting of the beams for the new bridge.
The bridge will also be closed overnight Thursday, July 24. The work will then resume overnight from Sunday through Thursday during the hours of 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. The work is expected to take 10 nights to complete, weather permitting.
Crews will be working through the night to deliver and set the bridge beams on the abutments and piers for the new bridge. Each of the 42 beams is 80 feet long and when installed will provide six bridge spans.
When the bridge connecting Middletown and Red Bank is closed, traffic between Rector Place and Hubbard Avenue will be detoured. Signs have been posted.
“The bridge will be open Friday and Saturday nights for people to access Red Bank and Middletown,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the County’s Department of Public Works and Engineering. “The reason we are doing this at night is to minimize the inconvenience that this closure will have on the motoring public. We need to advance this bridge replacement job and get this work completed in an efficient manner.”
If an adjustment to the work schedule is necessary, updates will be posted to the County’s website at www.visitmonmouth.com.
