Key Millville bridge tapped for rebuild in '23, stays open for traffic

MILLVILLE – The Main Street bridge over the Maurice River will come in for a major rebuilding starting in 2023, but the New Jersey Department of Transportation says the heavily traveled span will stay open to traffic in both directions during construction.

DOT spokesman Brian Ahrens said last week that engineering work is in an early stage, but tentatively the concept is to entirely replace the superstructure. Its piers and abutments will stay but be rehabilitated, he said.

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The state's 10-year transportation improvement plan, released last June, lists the project cost at $7.4 million.

The project will have to work around some important municipal utility pipelines servicing customers on the west side of the river. In 2012, the city installed a 14-inch diameter sewer force main and a 12-inch diameter water main beneath the bridge.

City Engineer Brian Prohowich said the smaller water pipe can stay put during construction. "The larger size of the sewer main does not allow this option and presents design issues, the main concern being an exposed casing and main on the face hanging on a bridge structure," he said.

"One option is the installation, underneath the riverbed, of a new sewer main," Prohowich said. "A second option is the splitting of the sewer force main into smaller diameter components to fit under the bridge between structural members."

Prohowich said any work would be a cost for the state.

The City Commission on Tuesday night officially endorsed the project at the request of the DOT.

The Maurice River first was spanned here in the 1700s.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times. Have a tip? Reach out at (856) 563-5252 or [email protected] or follow me on Twitter, @jpsmith-dj. Help support local journalism with a subscription.