Plans for Sharon Station Road bridges slated to be revised

UPPER FREEHOLD — The county plans to revise the designed plans for three bridges on Sharon Station Road. The initiative was approved by resolution at last week Board of Chosen Freeholders meeting in Fair Haven.

According to Gregory Bitsko, chief engineer in the Division of Bridges, the resolution extends the design contract for the bridges on Sharon Station Road between routes 526 and 539.

"_{The move authorizes an extension to the design plan because it had to be revised," he said.}

"_{We are only doing the bridge portion, not the roadway. Since the bridges rely on the alignment of the road, the revised design is best suited for any future reconstruction of the road," he added.}

"When we took a look at where the road would extend, we found that it would have impacted residential property. We just moved it away from any new houses."

Of the three bridges, the 40-foot bridge that goes over Doctors Creek is the longest. The other two are 10 feet long and go over unnamed tributaries.

The bridges are mostly made of wood and are each 50 years old. According to Bitsko, the approximately $189,000 reconstruction project won’t start for a while, but when it does, that part of the roadway will be closed.

One bridge, _{between Interstate 195 and Route 526, was just reconstructed. The project, which was approved last year, was completed in January at a cost of $384,000.}