NJDOT awards $21 million for county bridge projects

As part of the state's ongoing bridge preservation program, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) will provide the State's 21 counties with $1 million each for the improvement of county-owned bridges.

Counties may use Local Bridge grants for preventive maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement of structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges. The Local Bridge grants will enable New Jersey's counties to maintain and improve their bridges while creating jobs and providing property tax relief to residents.

Local Bridge grants provide funding to counties that would otherwise devote local tax revenue to bridge improvement projects. NJDOT's Fiscal Year 2009 Local Bridge grant program is directly funded by the Transportation Trust Fund. NJDOT dedicated $25 million in the Fiscal Year 2009 Transportation Capital Program to local bridge projects. NJDOT will award an additional $4 million in Local Bridge grants in Fiscal Year 2009.

The Monroe Street Bridge over the Rahway River in Union County will be replaced.

As a result of NJDOT's grants, counties will undertake projects including improvements to the Passaic Avenue Bridge over the Passaic River Bank and improvements to the Secaucus Road Bridge over Penhorn Creek in Hudson County. Union County will use its funds to replace the Monroe Street Bridge over the Rahway River in Union County and Cumberland County will rehabilitate County Route 670 over the Maurice River.