POINT PLEASANT BEACH – Broadway Bridge, which spans Cook’s Creek, will have emergency repairs made to it starting Sept. 5, county officials said.
One of the bridge’s two westbound lanes will be closed to traffic starting at the end of the day Sept. 4.
Eastbound lanes won’t be affected.
Traffic will be restricted to three-ton weight limits. A truck route using Baltimore Avenue to Arnold and Ocean Avenues will be set up.
Some of the bridge’s 56 pilings need shoring up. Six pilings showed deterioration during a biannual state inspection. Fiberglass sleeves will be installed around each piling, and will then be filled with steel reinforcement and concrete. That work will take three to four weeks, officials said.
Several others will be repaired within three months.
Walker Diving was contracted to make the repairs.
“We responded to the state’s report immediately, first, by lowering the weight limit on the span and also securing a contractor that could do the work,” Ocean County Freeholder John P. Kelly, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Engineering Department, said. “We have been closely working with borough officials to keep them informed of our progress.”
“We believe it’s prudent to do all the repair work at the same time,” Ocean Freeholder Director Gerry P. Little, who is liaison to the Ocean County Bridge Department, said. “Ocean County maintains more than 250 bridges and culverts. It’s imperative each structures are regularly inspected and repaired when necessary.”
