A few tasks remain, but work is on target for reopening the bridge on Route 519 in Kingwood. Watch video
KINGWOOD TWP. -- For almost two years, residents of southern Hunterdon County have been detouring around the site of a collapsed bridge on Route 519.
That's likely to end by April 1, and that's no April Fools' Day joke.
"We're pushing for Thursday to open, with the target of April 1," said county construction inspector Bryan Stem on Thursday morning. "They'll be working tomorrow and Saturday."
Steps yet to be done include welding the bridge deck onto the superstructure. "We hope to start paving on Monday," Stem said. "Then we'll shape up the embankments, do the topsoil, and we've got a guide rail to put in."
The new bridge is actually two bridges: a concrete arch bridge that will be paved over, and a metal bridge adjacent to the north. It's the same configuration that was replaced.
The former steel-truss bridge at the site was more than a century old and was on the list for replacement when a grossly overweight crane caused its collapse on June 12, 2014. The accident moved the project up.
Workers with Tony and Sons construction company have been on the job through the winter. The project lagged a bit in December, but caught back up quickly.
"We had a pretty mild winter," Stem said Thursday. "We only lost a few days here and there."
On Thursday morning, the site was busy. Gravel was brought in for fill around the bridge, and nearby a worker was cutting down a huge tree growing in the county right-of-way near the bridge. "It's dying, and we figured it would be better to take it down now while the road's still closed," Stem said.
Workers walked across bridge from one side of the Lockatong Creek to the other, sanding the corrugated metal floor and preparing for the welding work.
Sallie Graziano may be reached at sgraziano@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SallieGraziano. Find The Hunterdon County Democrat on Facebook.