06 Feb ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES START OF PROJECT TO REPLACE MILL STREET BRIDGE IN BELLEVILLE Work to Begin Thursday, February 15th; Motorists Asked to Plan a Different Route
Published on February 6, 2018
Belleville, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced that the reconstruction of the Mill Street Bridge in Belleville will begin on Thursday, February 15th. The project is scheduled to take about six months to complete. During construction, the road will be closed; vehicular traffic will be detoured around the area and a temporary pedestrian bridge will be installed for pedestrian use.
“The Mill Street Bridge provides vital access to residential neighborhoods, industrial properties and a commercial district. Providing the most up to date infrastructure is important to maintaining the safety and quality of life for our residents, and making sure we are able to meet the current demands of motorists and pedestrians,” DiVincenzo said. “Closing Mill Street creates a temporary inconvenience. We will monitor the progress of the project to minimize any disruptions,” he added.
The bridge is located near the intersection of Mill Street and Montgomery Street. Eastbound traffic on Mill Street coming from Belleville Avenue will be detoured to the right onto Montgomery Street, make a left on Berkeley Avenue, make a left on Newark Avenue, make a left onto Harrison Street before turning right on Mill Street. Westbound traffic from Franklin Avenue will be detoured by making a left onto Harrison Street and following the above route in reverse. All driveways to area residences and businesses will remain open.
The new bridge will be constructed with steel stringers and a reinforced concrete deck, sidewalks and parapets. To meet current design standards, the roadway will be widened so that the travel lanes in both directions are 16 feet wide. The existing concrete and steel structure crossing the Second River was constructed in 1942. In the latest inspection report, the bridge was described as functionally obsolete because the dimensions of the bridge are too small to meet current design standards.
Area Engineering, Inc. from Hopewell, N.J., was awarded a $235,000 contract to design the new bridge. Sparwick Contracting, Inc. from Lafayette, N.J., as awarded a publicly bid contract for $633,092 to perform the construction work. Funding is from the NJ Department of Transportation’s Local Bridges Future Needs Grant Program. The bridge is scheduled to be reopened by July 1st.
Other infrastructure projects undertaken by Essex County in Belleville include the repaving of the Branch Brook Park roadway from Mill Street to Washington Avenue; the modernization of the Belleville Avenue and Franklin Avenue intersection with new traffic signals, striping and signage; and repaving Franklin Avenue from Franklin Street in Newark to Joralemon Avenue in Belleville. Essex County has received a grant from the NJ Transportation Planning Authority to modernize the intersection of Mill Street and Franklin Street with new traffic signals, striping and signage.