The bridge is actually between Rockaway Township and Randolph. The other bridge mentioned is in Rockaway Township near the former Hibernia Mine Railroad. From the DAILY RECORD, 1 Sep 04: September 1, 2004 Page: 11A Rockaway Road Bridge closes for revamp Structure to be rebuilt, will reopen in '05 Maria Armental ROCKAWAY TWP. -- The Rockaway Road Bridge is expected to be reopen to traffic in the fall of 2005 after the current structure is demolished, giving way to a similar-sized bridge that meets current regulations, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation said Tuesday. The bridge was closed on Monday from Franklin Avenue to East Blackwell Street. The bridge is expected to be fully open to traffic by the fall of 2005 although work will continue into that winter, said DOT spokesman Marc La Vorgna. The bridge is at the borders of Randolph and Dover. La Vorgna said the construction is not expected to disrupt the rail service through Dover. If necessary, he said, crews will work out nighttime work hours with the public railway corporation. The DOT began the preliminary design in early 2001, La Vorgna said. The $6 million, federally funded project was included in this year's state transportation capital program. A second project in the township, which would replace the Green Pond Road Bridge over Hibernia Brook and include some roadway reconstruction, was also included in the transportation capital program. That project is still in the design phase. The Rockaway Road bridge, built in 1927, carries Dover-Rockaway Road over the Morristown NJ Transit rail line and the Rockaway River, connecting Rockaway Township with Randolph. It had been declared substandard by current structure codes, according to a statement released by the DOT. The new structure, which will be slightly realigned, will also feature one lane in each direction, though the lanes will be wider to meet current standards. In addition, La Vorgna said, the new bridge will include a shoulder in each direction and a sidewalk at the southbound approach to the Franklin Road intersection. To the north, the shoulders and a sidewalk will terminate at the East Blackwell Street intersection. While work is underway, southbound traffic is being directed through Route 46 East to Franklin Road, Palmer Road, and then onto Franklin Road, which will lead back onto Dover-Rockaway Road. Northbound traffic is being diverted onto Franklin Road, which becomes Palmer Road then Franklin Road again, to Route 46 West, and back onto Dover-Rockaway Road/West Main Street. Many drivers, however, ended up taking the South Salem Street bridge in Dover. That bridge is scheduled to be rebuilt in 2007. "Your local traffic very often finds (its) own way," La Vorgna said. Dover Town Engineer Michael Hantson had expressed concern to state officials about the possible impact of added traffic on the South Salem bridge during the planning process. Hantson said that although there's been increased traffic volume since the bridge closed, no problems have been reported so far. La Vorgna stressed the added traffic is not expected to have any impact on the structural condition of the Dover bridge, noting the DOT inspects its bridges biannually. "If the structural integrity of the bridge (were) in question, we wouldn't allow traffic to go over it," La Vorgna said. Maria Armental can be reached at (973) 989-0652 or marmental_@_gannett.com. ===== Gary R. Kazin DL&W Milepost R35.7 Rockaway, New Jersey http://www.geocities.com/gkazin/index.html __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------------
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