CEDAR GROVE—U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08) today announced that the Township of Cedar Grove will be awarded a $200,000 federal grant to renovate the bridge on Pompton Avenue/Route 23 that crosses the Peckman River.

“The consequences of America’s neglected roads and bridges were made tragically clear in Minneapolis as part of Interstate 35 collapsed into the Mississippi River,” sated Pascrell.  “I have long fought for improvements to our local infrastructure, and am proud of Cedar Grove’s commitment to renovating the bridge over the Peckman River-- before tragedy strikes.” 

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) applied for the funding through the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Innovative Bridge Research and Deployment (IBRD) program.  Pascrell, a former ten-year member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure helped create and authorize the $5.3 million grant program, which was signed into law in 2005.

According to a 2005 Highway Administration report, more than 75,000 of the nation's roughly 600,000 bridges, or 13.1 percent, were rated structurally deficient.

In New Jersey, 12 percent of the bridges were classified as structurally deficient.  While not necessarily unsafe, such bridges sometimes have speed and weight restrictions.

“I am pleased that Governor Corzine has recently asked state Transportation Commissioner Kolluri to immediately examine all of the state’s 6,400 bridges and make a report to him detailing the condition, the inspection process, and estimation of the costs to repair these bridges.  I am happy to report that here in Cedar Grove we are ahead of the curve and have already begun the process of repairing and restoring this bridge on Cedar Grove’s main throughway.”

The IBRD program is designed to improve the quality of materials, design, construction and repair methods which lower construction costs and enhance bridge safety.

The project will entail replacement of the concrete and steel beam basics of the structure that the FHWA has labeled structurally deficient.  The new bridge will consist of innovative materials, like Hillman-Composite Beams (HCBs).  HCBs utilize a combination of concrete, steel and composite fiber reinforced with polymer material.  The HCBs provide enhanced resistance in a corrosive environment, which will reduce the cost of maintaining the bridge.  In addition, HCBs are lighter than regular concrete beams.  

Cedar Grove was one of only twenty-nine applicants approved for project funding nationwide.  It was the only grant recipient in New Jersey.  Construction is scheduled to begin in October of 2008. 

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