The Main Street Bridge between Moorestown and Maple Shade is back open for all motor-vehicles.
The bridge over the north branch of the Pennsauken Creek reopened Thursday afternoon after testing confirmed that emergency repairs had sufficiently strengthened the structure to allow for the safe resumption of all motor-vehicle traffic.
Prior to its emergency closure this spring, more than 12,000 vehicles traveled across it daily.
The Burlington County Engineer’s Office will continue to closely monitor the bridge to ensure its safety and to determine what next steps to take with any additional repairs and maintenance.
“Getting the bridge back open safely as expeditiously as possible was our top priority. We successfully completed that task, but we will keep close watch to see what additional work might be appropriate,” Brickley said. “Testing today showed the supports are strong enough for traffic to resume and our expectations are that any additional repairs will not require another full closure.”
The bridge was first ordered closed to all traffic this spring after damage to the bridge pilings was uncovered during the start of some unrelated repairs. The damage was below the water line and was discovered when a contractor lowered the creek to perform the originally scheduled maintenance.
In response to this new damage, the County Engineering Office teamed with consulting experts to develop a mitigation plan for emergency repairs to shore up the pilings with new concrete. The Burlington County Department of Public Works Construction Services Division and Division of Roads and Bridges mobilized and expeditiously completed the work over several weeks.
The County Construction Services team is made up of skilled union members from the Building and Construction Trades who work under the direction of skilled construction supervisors. These workers are hired by the County for various in-house construction projects, including bridge repairs and reconstruction projects. The workers include pipe fitters, electricians, carpenters, masons and other construction specialists.
Brickley said the construction team successfully overcame several challenges to complete the repair project, including heavy rainfall in late April and May that delayed repairs and required additional work to drain water from beneath the bridge.
The bridge is over 100 years old and is one of the oldest spans in use in Burlington County. It was originally built in 1900 and then reconstructed in 1930.
With the work on Main Street Bridge completed, the County Construction Services team plans to begin work on nearby Forklanding Road Bridge in Cinnaminson next week. The work was originally scheduled to start earlier this month but was postponed in order to avoid potential traffic problems from having two nearby bridges closed at the same time.
Forklanding Road Bridge has just a single-lane and is expected to be closed for approximately eight weeks.
Burlington County is the largest county in New Jersey and is responsible for maintaining more than 500 miles of County roads, along with 411 bridges and 700 culverts.