County Plans Spring Repairs to Deteriorating Washington Twp. Bridge

Published on February 01, 2018

BLACK RIVER ROAD SPAN HAS STRUCTURAL ISSUES

Spring repairs are being announced for a lightly used county bridge that spans a tributary of the Black River in Washington Township, and which is showing signs of deterioration.

(PNG, 2MB)County Bridge No. 1401-260, or Black River Road Bridge, is a single span, stone masonry arch structure, with asphalt pavement. There are no available records to show when it was built.

The small bridge, located near Pickle Road (Bridge Location Map)(PDF, 25KB), is just 12-feet long and 21-feet wide, and carries an average of 245 vehicles each day.

(JPG, 1MB) Stone underside of bridge

Due to deterioration caused by water seepage, some stones are falling from the underside of the arch at the fascia location.

The Morris County Bridge Department has placed water-filled barriers along the fascia to keep traffic off that portion of the bridge on a temporary basis.

Proposed repairs are under design. Repair work is anticipated to start in the spring.

Bridge Department inspectors noticed the problem recently during a routine inspection. In addition to the placement of barriers on the narrow bridge, the county installed signs in each direction to alert motorists that they are now facing a single lane bridge ahead.