Commissioners say pandemic is slowing bridge work

Bridge work. The Sussex County Commissioners are asking for three extensions to the 2019 Local Bridge Fund Program on behalf of four local bridges now under repair or being replaced.

Two of the bridges – X-54 and X-48 – are located in Wantage Township, bridge L-04 is located on Warbasse Junction Road in Lafayette, and bridge D-38 is located in Frankford.

The resolution, unanimously passed on March 23, asks the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) to extend the deadline for the contract awarding for the replacement of the steel girder and open grid deck on Bridge X-54, located on Oil City Road in Wantage, to Aug. 20.

Another resolution asks the DOT to authorize a three-month extension to the contract award deadline for the Warbasse Junction Road bridge to Aug. 20.

For the Mudtown Road bridge that crosses the Clove Brook in Wantage, commissioners have asked DOT to authorize a 12-month extension of the contract award, to April 6, 2023.

The fourth resolution asks that the contract award deadline for the County Route 519 bridge replacement be pushed back a year, to April 6, 2023. A Branchville water main was recently discovered in the area, requiring a design relocation for the bridge.

According to letters from county engineer Bill Koppenaal, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to slow the normal advancement of all four projects.