STAFFORD – Township residents and officials were pleased to note the completion of work to replace the Morris Boulevard Bridge, over Fox Island Creek.
County officials noted that this important Stafford project has been completed and the bridge is open to traffic.
“Our goal was to get this done before Memorial Day weekend and it has been completed ahead of schedule,” Ocean County Freeholder John P. Kelly said.
The work included the complete replacement of an existing 3-span concrete and steel bridge built in 1955 and its timber substructure. The design of the new bridge was modified to match the Marsha Drive Bridge.
“These bridges are located in the lagoon areas of the Beach Haven West section of Stafford Township. It made sense to have both bridges at the same height in order to provide the same clearance for boaters,” Kelly said.
The new Morris Boulevard span is a two-span bridge that is 51 feet in length. The cartway width of the bridge is 31.5 feet with a six-foot wide sidewalk along the east side.
Its superstructure consists of adjacent voided slab beams with a composite reinforced concrete deck with reinforced concrete approach slabs.
The substructure consists of cast-in-place concrete piles and pile caps. The permanent cofferdam bulk heading consists of coal-tar epoxied steel sheeting.
Some approach roadway reconstruction was included within the project along with roadway sidewalk and curbing as well as new guide rail.
Barnegat Township based Midlantic Construction, was the contractor on the project which cost $1.6 million.
