The replacement of two structurally deficient bridges in Hopewell and Ewing townships has earned a pair of prestigious engineering awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).
Parsons Brinckerhoff engineering firm and Mercer County was recently recognized for the Bear Tavern Road and Jacobs Creek Road bridge replacements, which were completed simultaneously in September 2014. Parsons Brinckerhoff was the prime consultant that managed the design and provided support services for the two-bridge project.
The project received an Honor Award at ACEC New Jersey’s 44th annual Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet on March 11 at the Forsgate Country Club in Monroe. On April 21, the project will receive a National Recognition Award at ACEC’s 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards Gala in Washington, D.C.
The original Bear Tavern Road Bridge in Hopewell Township, known locally as the Jacobs Creek Bridge, was built in 1882 and rehabilitated in 1950. In 1966, Mercer County acquired the right of way to accommodate a new alignment of Bear Tavern Road, and replaced the obsolete bridge. In recognizing and appreciating the history of the bridge and rural community, in 2004 Mercer County entered into discussions on how to replace the historic span with a safe new bridge, with minimal impact to the area and the original structure. The area near Jacobs Creek Bridge is designated a National Historic District, which required the County to consult with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) throughout the project.
The desires of various groups and stakeholders weighed heavily in the design of the bridge. With guidance from NJDEP and Hopewell Township, Mercer County performed archeological surveys in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, the project design was awarded to Parsons Brickerhoff, and the construction contract was awarded in September 2013. Mercer County Department of Transportation and Infrastructure was able to link this project to another bridge project, the nearby Jacobs Creek Road Bridge over Ewing Creek in Ewing Township, and as a result reduced inconvenience to motorists by simultaneously completing the bridges. The duration of the two projects was a year and they were finished in that allotted time, with the bridges reopening in September 2014.
The new Bear Tavern Road Bridge, and safety improvements in the vicinity of the bridge, preserves the historically significant area while providing for a new bridge on nearly the same footprint as the original span and roadway. Mercer County and Parsons Brinckerhoff worked with NJDEP’s Historic Preservation Office to ultimately decide aesthetics for the new bridge.
The old bridge over Jacobs Creek, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Irene in 2011, has been removed and is being preserved. The removal of the existing historic truss required extremely careful planning and dismantling to avoid damaging the historic components. The components are in storage for future re-assembly at the Mercer County Park Commission’s Howell Living History Farm, where the bridge would be seen by the more than 65,000 people who visit each year.
