Recent New Jersey Comments

Northbound bridge is called Morris Goodkind Bridge. Southbound bridge is called Donald Goodkind Bridge.

the correct coordinates are 40.654294,-74.661252

the original steel pony truss appears to be lost

should be designated "North Branch Raritan River Bridge at Kline's Mill?"

Bridge under repairs from May 15 through Jun 15 2013. Two terrific floods that had water a few feet over the deck most likely caused undermining. It is a beautiful old bridge in a remote rural setting....... By the way...the water is almost always only 6-12 inches deep under the deck. the deck is about 10 feet over the normal water level.

This is in Warren County NJ; part of Pohatcong Twp. The Musconetcong River is the Northwestern boundary marker for Hunterdon County.

Here are some pictures of Mine Road Bridge I shot this morning:

Another vintage photo: https://dspace.njstatelib.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10929/21887/Stony.jpg?sequence=1

Here is an old postcard of the bridge: http://pudl.princeton.edu/sheetreader.php?obj=5425k979t

My mistake, it was built in 1792. I'm pretty sure this bridge also replaced a wooden bridge burned by George Washington's troops during the revolution.

Luke,

The image the comes up in street view is the Quaker Road bridge, this bridge/intersection are literally feet from the correct bridge. If street view pans to the right, you see the actual bridge.

This is the bridge: http://www.seocom.com/stan/njprnctn1.html

Regards,

Art S.

This bridge was built in 1797.

This bridge was built in 1797 as a replacement for a wooden bridge burned by George Washington's troops during the revolution.

This bridge is a rotating two track railroad bridge. The motion was necessary because of the Delaware & Raritan Canal.

The Mine Road bridge was restored in summer of 2011. It was one of very few bridges over Stony Brook that was not washed out as a result of Hurricane Irene.

Here is a picture of the bridge prior to widening

http://pudl.princeton.edu/sheetreader.php?obj=2v23vt493

Here is a picture showing it's current width:

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/jag9889/4787156748/

Here is a picture of the bridge prior to widening

http://pudl.princeton.edu/sheetreader.php?obj=2v23vt493

Oh yeah, this bridge can be seen in the opening sequence of the 'House' TV series.

This is the Washington Road (Rt. 571) bridge. It is one of two bridges over Carnegie lake built by Andrew Carnegie when he had Carnegie Lake (Lock Carnegie) created for Princeton University's crew team in 1906. It is reenforced cast concrete four span arch bridge with stone facing It was originally a single lane and was widened in the 1930's.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jag9889/4841472191/

The other bridge, the Harrison Street Bridge, a spectacular four span iron arch bridge built at the same time as the Washington Road Bridge was torn down 20+ years ago.

http://pudl.princeton.edu/sheetreader.php?obj=1z40ks94n

The replacement is a steel bridge that is a modern interpretation of the original.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jag9889/4787093866/

Photo of the bridge..

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/88679537

This bridge, and the other bridge that is nearly identical to this at Manners and Welisewitz Rd were both severely damaged and lifted off foundation by post-hurricane Floyd in 1999. We were just happy they kept the look!

This bridge (NJ Route 3 bridge over the Passaic River) is now demolished and replaced with a new bridge. Here is an article about the demolition of the old bridge: http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/02/final_explosion_at_route_3_passaic_river_bridge_scheduled.html

And here is a photo of the new bridge on one of the days the piers of the old bridge were being blown up: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=201930499939111&set=a.201769349955226.40425.201311203334374&type=1&theater.

Wow, another road bridge with Phoenix Columns!!

Nathan, Mine Road bridge looks much better now. It is a pretty shade of dark green and looks like new.

I'll try to get some pictures in the next week or two.

Regards,

Art S.

The bridge is straight, the road approaches from an angle. The triangle is a space beneath the road where the bridge continues straight.

What is the triangular hollow in the side of the bridge?

Carnegie may have fabricated the steel for this bridge. However, the builder I think may be American Bridge Co. A 1908 span in Maine has a very similar stylistic appearance. http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=maine/frankfort/

If this bridge is as old as the one in Maine, it would be highly significant as an early poly warren.

Carnegie Steel Truss

True Don... I saw that side view after I made my previous comment. Hard to tell what is original and what's not of the lower chord and floor system.

Hmm...

The article refers to stringer beams having significant damage. At least that part is not 1896 design. The view from the water picture also shows substantial stringer beams.

So, Is this truly a truss bridge? Has it been rehabbed before adding stringers or maybe the truss structure was already used to decorate a stringer bridge?

I can't see it clearly in the pictures available. The rehab date is 1983.

At any rate, it looks to be kind of far from original already.

Don

I just wish they would have moved the pony to a park and kept it intact.

Thank you for the clarification Nathan.

Technically this is a replacement project. However the most significant elements of the bridge... the trusses... are supposed to be saved. I cannot in good conscience call this a form of preservation, but it is a good compromise that prevents the loss of valuable Phoenix columns.

Found a view from the water:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jag9889/1187966778/in/photostream/

Posting mostly for the picture in that article:

http://www.northjersey.com/news/164489016_Oradell_council_concerned_about_delays_to_bridge_repairs.html

http://riverdell.patch.com/articles/oradell-closes-in-on-finish-line-for-elm-st-bridge-and-police-promotions-this-week

Posting this one mostly for the picture:

http://www.northjersey.com/news/148666355_Endangered_bird_delays_bridge_repairs.html

Looks like this one might be sort of saved (at least the trusswork):

http://www.northjersey.com/news/161823445_Bridge_repairs_begin.html

It looks like they are going to 'rehab' this bridge, does anyone know if this means 'replace'? It is a very nice Phoenix Column pony truss.

http://riverdell.patch.com/articles/rehabilitation-of-elm-street-bridge-nears-completion

This bridge was replaced by a modern pony truss many years ago.

Still open to hikers and bikers. Great bridge in a very beautiful setting.

Bridge was taken down after Hurricane Irene

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/09/mercer_to_begin_dismantling_of.html

It is in storage and may be installed near by sometime in the future.

Apparently the bridge was adjusted/tweaked hours before the derailment: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/03/us/new-jersey-train-derail/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_latest+%28RSS%3A+Most+Recent%29

It may be premature to declare this bridge "lost," as it is reported by reliable railroad sources that this bridge suffered derailment in 2009 but was rebuilt. See http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2012/11/paulsboro_train_derailment_who.html

Nearly all of this rare Phoenix column bridge with swing span was demolished. A few panels of the fixed Phoenix column span were left standing, and remain today. While better than demolishing everything, its a shame this is all that is left. However, in southern New Jersey, this bridge, even in its condition today, is rare. The better examples of preserved Phoenix column bridges remain in northern New Jersey.

Thanks Luke. I was going to get around to posting it eventually.

Looks like the approach spans have been replaced (in 1992?) with pre-stressed concrete box beams.

Thanks Tony! Ribbon lacing is a good name for it; probably the proper name, so I added that to the photo caption.

This is a very unique span Andrew! I love the Ribbon-lacing seen in pic #6. you don't see it in very many bridges.

If I had to wager I would still bet that Massillon was involved and likely supplied the trusses to this firm who then erected them. This was likely a smaller company that unlike the large Ohio firm, had no manufacturing facility.

I am familiar with several firms here in Indiana that supplied trusses for contractors who then took credit for "building" the actual bridge. These firms sometimes even discretely supplied those trusses to their competitors.

Yes, that does appear to be exactly the same style of plaque. I wonder if it is even the same size. There was probably lots of copying going on in those days, and/or such things were available out of the parts catalogs, like all the cast iron architectural building bits being made at the time.

Look at pic #12 and compare to the photo below.

They either stole Massillon Bridge Company's plaque design...or Massillon actually built this and the other firm erected it.

There is also a place in Tennessee that Nels found that can do iron castings. We had also thought at one point to start collecting the iron scrap for that...at least if we have to lose a bridge there mighft be some benefit.

JULIE,

THANKS FOR THE INFO ON THE 8' LIMIT. THAT PLUS THE HIGH COST SEEMS TO MAKE USING "REAL WROUGHT IRON" NOT PRACTICAL FOR MOST PROJECTS. HOWEVER ONE SHOULD NOT SAY IT'S NOT AVAILABLE. LOTS OF THINGS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN ARC WELDING HISTORIC BRIDGES, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER DAY'S TOPIC.

We looked into the rolled wrought iron for cruciform but they only roll 8' lengths. Iron can be welded to steel or to itself with standard welding rod.

CHECK OUT the documentary showcasing construction techniques for iron bridge repai at YouTube under Workin' Bridges.

On another note, suggesting that every bridge try to get on the NRHP just to go through Section 106 seems wrong. Svery project is different and slowing down to bureaucrat speed is not always the answer and the bureaucrats know if they dont use federal dollars they dont have to go through review. Educating and construction estimates are. A good way to fight the battle. If it can make economic sense to repair restore then great.

http://www.realwroughtiron.com/home-12.html

DRILL INTO THIS SITE. SOME SIZES AVAILABLE. I LOOKED INTO PRICING (SOME YEARS AGO) AND AS I REMEMBER IT WAS $3 A POUND, BY THE TIME YOU IMPORTED IT TO THE U. S.

IT WOULD BE MORE TO GET INTO THE SPECIAL ROLLING.

Oh. Okay. I am aware of dozens of places to get rolled steel stock. I have never seen wrought iron stock for sale, so I presumed acquiring wrought iron for making repairs would be more difficult. So much for my logic. *smiles*

Wrought iron is not any more difficult to restore than steel. Check out the Lansing Community College Iron and Steel Preservation Conference for details. www.historicbridgerestoration.com

Built in 1886 - that would make it likely it's wrought iron, right? Restoring it correctly could be more difficult - but also that would make it more valuable.

Nathan it's in awful shape. The county has done wonders keeping their bridges in top condition, and they build new trusses and even fake ones when an old bridge has to go, but this one is really sub-par. It is one of the lightest gauge bridges I've seen in the county, even among the dozen or more 1890-1905 survivors that we have.

Actually, the USGS Topo maps indicate that the Warren/Hunterdon County line runs along the centerline of the river in this area. It does not follow the nearby road. Therefore, this bridge should correctly be listed in both Warren and Hunterdon County. Those "Welcome To County" signs are definitely not a very useful tool to determine where the county line is. I have seen many signs not exactly on the line. It was probably placed at the intersection because there was no easy or tasteful place to put it on the historic bridge, where it would be an obstructive eyesore.

Nice photos, Andrew! And I appreciate the text that's with them.

On the photo "another view below", those lateral pieces between the outer two strigers (joists) are called diaphrams. No, I don't know why. *smiles*

This looks like a first-rate rehab. Stainless steel pins. Railing not attached to verticals. The parts above the deck look authentic.

It is no longer historically authentic - but it is now a useable part of a modern highway system.

Yes, the name Cleveland Bridge is appropriate.

I got an email with the following links. Based on these images, I changed the name of the brige. I'm not a local so I'm just gussing. Is the name on the sign the best choice for the name on Bridgehunter?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewentworths/4439188335/sizes/o/in/photostr=eam/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewentworths/4439186155/sizes/o/in/photostr=eam/

http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/4/0/2/4/ar13351943042045.JPG

Something seems off on the location; the coordinates are pointing to Driscoll Bridge, which is much, much larger.

This is a historical bridge, so why can't they move it to the side and make a fishing pier out of it, and replace the span? Other counties up north get all the support and help, but the south part of the state gets forgotten......... again!

I was not happy to learn about this bridge's impending doom. I visited this county a few years ago and photographed many of the bridges. I missed this bridge because of its load-bearing girders it isn't listed as a truss. Hunterdon County used to be noted for the preservation of its bridges. There does not appear to be anything wrong with this bridge.

The bridge remains operational for lifting, but has a 8 hour notice for openings.

taken from my Grand Pops slides, he was an engineer. I believe he help build this bridge.

Article on this span in the latest National Trust for Historic Preservation newsletter:

http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2011/story-of-the-day/a-battle-for-a-bridge.html

Sounds good, Im cautious about that stuff.

I cropped it so now there is just a dog and part of an arm.

you can see a picture of the bridge here, chose not to post it since people are in the photo.

http://xj.cdevco.net/ramapo/bridge.jpg

Actually the bridge is out since Hurricane Irene. One section has sunk low. All traffice is now detoured.

Nobody seems to know how long it will be out. Route 575 is a major county road.

Flood waters have reached this bridge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1Uv5QDAPYnI#!

A complex structure. It originally carried Central Avenue over the Morris Canal. The avenue was cut through about 40 years after the canal, and civic pride or some thing such forced construction of a difficult skew bridge in order to maintain the straight line of Central Avenue. The canal was closed in 1924, and the City Subway trolley line opened in 1935.

My diagram shows approximately the structure of the bridge. Note that at no point is this a simple pony truss bridge. Instead the trusses support the edge of the roadway where otherwise the structure is masonry wall and crossbeams.

Span A rests on masonry wall (brown), truss (dark blue), and a crossbeam. Span B rests only on masonry walls and crossbeams. Spans C D E rest on masonry wall, 3 trusses, and 2 crossbeams. The 2 crossbeams originally extended past the trusses to masonry columns on the south side of the canal, but now end under the ends of the trusses on columns built in the early 1930s when the City Subway was constructed.

The first photo shows the original south side with the crossbeams extending to the south side of the canal, circa 1929. The second photo shows almost the same view in August 2011.

Originally carried the Upper Road to Belleville across the Second River. Now carries only local traffic, probably why it has survived. Built of local brownstone, the same stone used in many Manhattan row houses of the 19th century. Small amount of damage to the west side parapet and erosion on a few stones. Image shows the east side arch, which (it is said) has the date 1867 in the eroded keystone.

Two good articles on the early history of this bridge at http://goodspeedhistories.com/ -- search 'Green Sergeant'.

The present structure is a wooden covered bridge resting on a simple steel deck beam span between concrete abutments. After being damaged, the covered bridge was removed in 1960, and two one-lane steel bridges were constructed to replace it. The covered bridge was reassembled onto the north span, and the south span was finished with low stone walls.

The photos below from August 11, 2011, are intended to show some structural details. 1: East end of the bridges. 2: East end, overexposed to show interior of covered bridge. 3: Interior showing wooden structure. 4: Looking south from stream bed, showing the matching steel beams under both bridges. 5: Looking east under the covered bridge, showing the date 1961 cut into the abutment wall, and showing the wood planks that support the floor of the bridge.

Right around the corner from the Green Sergeant covered bridge and ignored by all-- until you go down to stream level, where this bridge might just outshine its famous neighbor.

Photos from August 11, 2011. 1: Looking south on Pine Hill Road: who would look twice? 2: From the stream bed, looking east. 3: Closer look.

Mislocated on map. This bridge is not the one right next to Dunkard Church Road but the next one about 1500 feet north. The rehabilitation of 1974 apparently involved widening the bridge. The west side has an old stone with the date 1837 but otherwise looks modern. The east side however looks convincingly old and has curved wall approaches. The flat stone top may be modern although the modern west side does not have it. Corrugated metal has been installed inside the arch.

Photos taken Aug 11 2011. 1: west side wall showing the date stone. 2: looking south, showing modern west side of bridge. 3: looking north, showing old east side (exposed to show detail of bridge).

It's hard to say what parts of this bridge are from 1834. View looking south, August 11, 2011.

Spans New Jersey Transit railroad, not New Jersey Turnpike.

What is the opening schedule?

This bridge was replaced with a very nice replica. It took a long time to build, and people were getting very impatient. The old bridge was rated at 7 tons. I'm not sure about the new one. Sorry, I have no pictures, though I could take some at any time, since the bridge is near here.

This bridge carries CR 563 over the Mullica River, which is the county line.

If I had known that my updates for each of these bridges were showing up on the forum I wouldn't have posted this stuff on the forum earlier.

Anyway, this bridge was reconstructed in May and June of 2010. All good components were retained and reused, and all bad components were replicated. They did an amazing job, IMO.

I shot a video there, the day I discovered that it was closed (October 3, 2009):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZrTkjs5Pgo

A week later I visited, and shot another video, after work had begun. The decking had been removed, and you can see just what horrible condition the bridge was in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5GgCaQKwhQ

On June 12, 2010 I visited again, and work was 99% complete. It was open to traffic soon after. This is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mIl9FHH32I

It is now rated at 21 tons, though I think that's a bit optimistic. No one pays attention to the weight limit signs anyway, and most people go way more than the posted 40 mph speed limit as well.

This bridge has wooden approach spans on either side of the pony truss. It is open to traffic, and has been for a while now.

This bridge is very narrow, and is open to one-way traffic, with stop signs on either side of the bridge.

The Bayonne Bridge isn't the first large bridge that's had it's height increased.

The Bridge of the Gods on the Columbia River between OR and WA height was raised in the early 1940s.

http://bridgehunter.com/or/hood-river/bh36607/

Yes, the bridge will not be replaced, but from what I can see it will be severely altered and it will lose a significant amount of historic integrity of appearance, design, and materials. I strongly recommend that anyone interested in visiting and photographing this nationally significant historic bridge do so prior to this project taking place.

Novel modification of the bridge apparently is forthcoming. A major project to increase the waterway clearance by about 65'.

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/bayonne/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1293693971293270.xml&coll=3

I'm not exactly sure about it being an HOV, but I do know that the bridge was built with a five-lane roadway without median separation so it could allow for flexibility in opening lanes during peak periods. I have seen this used based on traffic coming downto the NJ shore (Fri) and going from the shore home (Sun).

I see the flexible lane barrier like they use for the HOV on Interstate 30 in Dallas. How does it work on this bridge?

The bridge is closed to all traffic for structural repairs as of May 31, 2011 and is scheduled to reopen by the end of June 2011. I recently found out that until the mid 1980s that buses used that bridge.

I am surprised this bridge is still standing. I visited it last year knowing it was slated for replacement. This bridge is definitely on borrowed time. Southern New Jersey does not care for its few historic bridges as much as northern New Jersey.

A very unique span!

Attached is a press release that provides information on efforts of local community to get this bridge preserved in place for continued vehicular use.

View attachment #1 (PDF document, version 1.5, 9299 bytes)

An ancestor, Ed Thomas, served at Wading River Bridge for 2 days, as captain of 49 men in a cavalry, under Col. William Shreve, on February 6 and 7, 1781.

LOL love the pic.

Always sad to see a bridge of this age face destruction.

This span is locally known as the Beesley's Point Bridge. As of August, 2010, it remains closed to traffic. Deterioration on the span has advanced in the past six years, making renovation of the span for a return to traffic service very costly. Indications from NJDOT suggest they will be seeking its partial demolition with the sections closest to land remaining as fishing piers.

The Stickel Bridge rarely opens these days. Around 2000, The NJ Department of Transportation sought to get permission from the Coast Guard t allow for the Stickel Bridge to be locked down. However, during the recent refurbishment of the bridge, the wire ropes used for the counterweights were replaced - suggesting that the bridge remains in operable lifting condition.

This bridge, which remains open to US 130 traffic, has been locked in the down position and no longer opens for navigational water traffic.