Work to resume on Somerset County Route 518 Bridge over Delaware and Raritan Canal in Franklin next week

Work to resume on
Somerset County Route 518 Bridge over
Delaware and Raritan Canal in Franklin next week

Existing detour will remain in place

(Trenton) - New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced that work on the Somerset County Route (CR) 518 Bridge over the Delaware & Raritan Canal in Franklin will resume next week.

NJDOT’s contractor, Tarheel Enterprises Inc., will restart work on Monday, November 21, to complete drill shafts necessary for new bridge piers. Work to reconstruct the bridge will include milling and paving the approaches to the bridge, removing and replacing the existing piers, installing new precast abutment caps on either side of the canal, replacing the support beams, and pouring a new stamped concrete deck which will resemble wood to blend in with nature and D&R Canal.

The bridge, originally constructed in 1950, requires a full closure so it can be reconstructed because of severe deterioration of the support beams. Demolition work on the bridge began in July before projects were put on hold pending the renewal of the Transportation Trust Fund. At the time that the bridge was closed, the following detour was put in place and remains in effect:

Traffic from CR518 eastbound and Route 206 southbound:

Motorists traveling eastbound on CR518/Washington Street will be directed to make a right onto Crescent Avenue

From Crescent Avenue, right onto CR605/Kingston Road, which becomes River Road

From CR605/River Road motorists will make a left onto Route 27 north and then continue back onto CR518/Georgetown Franklin Turnpike

Traffic from CR518 westbound:

Motorists traveling westbound on CR518/Georgetown Franklin Turnpike will be directed to make a left onto Route 27 south

From Route 27 south, motorists will be directed to make a right onto CR605/River Road, which becomes Kingston Road

From CR605/Kingston Road, traffic will bear left onto Crescent Avenue

From Crescent Avenue, motorists will continue onto CR518/Washington Street

Traffic from Canal Road southbound:

Motorists traveling southbound on Canal Road will be directed to continue straight past the bridge, which becomes Kingston Rocky Hill Road and then Laurel Avenue

From Laurel Avenue motorists will make a right onto Route 27 and another right onto CR605/River Road

Traffic from Route 27 southbound to CR518:

Motorists traveling southbound on Route 27 will be directed to go straight on Route 27 and make a right onto CR605/River Road, which becomes Kingston Road

From CR605/Kingston Road, traffic will bear left onto Crescent Avenue

From Crescent Avenue, motorists will continue onto CR518/Washington Street

NJDOT has designed work on the $2.75 million state-funded bridge replacement project to be performed in stages. The project is expected to be completed by early 2017.

Portable variable message signs are being utilized to provide advance notification to the public of all traffic pattern changes associated with the work.

The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info.