Burlington County is mobilizing its in-house construction team to perform emergency repairs to the Main Street Bridge between Moorestown and Maple Shade.
County construction crews began making the concrete repairs on April 24, and the work is expected to take a few weeks to complete.
Burlington County Engineer Joseph Brickley said the decision to use the Department of Public Works Construction Services Division was made in the interest of public safety and to expedite the necessary repairs.
The County Construction Services consists of union labor. Using them will advance the project forward and allow the bridge to safely reopen.
“We’re moving forward with the county’s own team of skilled construction workers to advance these repairs so the bridge can safely reopen in the most expeditious manner possible,” said Brickley. “The county team will be on-site and working Monday morning (April 24) to shore up the bridge structure. It’s our belief this work will allow the span to reopen quickly without jeopardizing public safety.”
The county team is made up of union members from the Building and Construction Trades. These workers are hired by the county for various in-house construction projects and have included pipe fitters, electricians, carpenters, masons and other construction specialists. Using them has allowed the county to complete small and medium-sized construction projects quicker and more efficiently.
Both the Burlington County Vaccine Mega-Sites located at the Moorestown Mall and the Eastgate Square Shopping Center in Mount Laurel were outfitted by these workers. The county has also used the in-house crews to rebuild or make repairs to various county bridges and to complete other county building renovations and construction projects.
The emergency repairs by the county construction crew will be made simultaneously to ongoing bridge work being performed by a hired contractor. That work was previously scheduled and unrelated to the bridge closure.
The bridge is located on the Maple Shade-Moorestown border and crosses the north branch of the Pennsauken Creek. More than 12,000 vehicles travel over the span daily on County Route 537, which turns into West Camden Avenue on the Moorestown side.
The engineer’s office ordered the bridge span over the north branch of the Pennsauken Creek closed to all traffic to investigate an unforeseen condition involving some of the bridge pilings. The damage was discovered below the water line when the contractor lowered the water level to perform other repairs.
Since ordering the closure, the County Engineering Office has worked with consulting engineers to develop the mitigation plan to shore up the pilings with concrete. This is expected to safely allow the span to reopen to motor-vehicles.
Detours have been posted to route traffic around the bridge via Route 73, Route 41 and Lenola Road. The county has also posted additional signage alerting motorists that Main Street and Camden Avenue remain open and the businesses on both sides of the span continue to be open and accessible.
“We’ve taken steps to improve the signage to try to lessen the closure impacts on local businesses and residents,” Brickley said. “Getting the bridge reopened safely and as quickly as possible is still our top priority and that’s why we’re taking this action to deploy County Construction Services. With them and the cooperation of the Building and Construction Trades, we’re expediting this project to reopen the bridge.”
