NJDOT receives Historic Preservation Awards for two projects

East Point Lighthouse and Route 206 Bridges over Stony Brook rehabilitation projects recognized

(Trenton) -New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials last night were awarded two 2018 New Jersey Historic Preservation Awards from the State Department of Environmental Protection, Historic Preservation Office, for the successful completion of the East Point Lighthouse and Route 206 Bridges over Stony Brook historic projects.

“The New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office awards are recognition that NJDOT’s work improves the quality of life for residents and visitors to our state on multiple levels,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “Through NJDOT grants and projects, we are helping preserve New Jersey’s rich history while providing the infrastructure in a state of good repair for years to come.”

NJDOT project staff accepted the awards last night at the 28th Annual Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony held at the Hamilton Club Building, Passaic County Community College in Paterson.

NJDOT Local Aid and Environmental Divisions began its involvement in the East Point Lighthouse restoration project in 1995 providing Phase I project funding to the Maurice River Historical Society. NJDOT also provided a federal Transportation Enhancement grant to fund Phase II, which ultimately restored the Lighthouse in 2018.

The East Point Lighthouse, originally constructed in 1849, is the second oldest in New Jersey. It was built on a point of land in Heislerville, Cumberland County guiding commercial fishermen and recreational boaters in from the Delaware Bay. It went dark at the beginning of World War II and suffered decay from years of neglect.

The East Point Lighthouse exterior and interior are both fully restored and open for visitors to climb the four stories to admire the scenic views and experience interior period antique furnishings depicting the time when the lighthouse keeper and his family would have lived on the property.

The Route 206 Bridges over Stony Brook project, also honored in last night’s ceremony, rehabilitated the oldest bridge on a State highway in New Jersey still in use. Constructed in 1792 and widened in 1916, it was closed in February 2016, for emergency repairs following a partial parapet collapse. The $7.4 million state-funded project rehabilitated the historic Stone Arch Bridge over Stony Brook and replaced the adjacent Flood Channel Bridge on time and on budget.

Located within the historic districts of the Princeton Battlefield/Stony Brook Settlement Village and the Kings Highway Districts, NJDOT worked closely with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and Princeton Historical Preservation Committee (HPC) from the beginning of the emergency repair in February 2016 throughout the design and construction of the permanent rehabilitation. The project included archaeological monitoring and documentation.

In addition to the 2018 New Jersey Historic Preservation Award, the Route 206 Bridges over Stony Brook project received the 2018 Project of the Year Award from the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers Mercer County Chapter, and Arora and Associates, P.C., the project design consultant, received a Large Project category Honor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies in April, 2018.