The New Jersey Department of Transportation has announced their contractor South State Inc is ready to begin the demolition of the old Browning Road bridge in Bellmawr New Jersey, with work and overnight lane closures to begin Monday January 10th, 2022. The overnight closures of various lanes under the bridge will take place over the following six weeks.
The overnight closures will be Mon-Friday starting at 9pm, and will end at 5am for the traffic heading 42n/76w (direction towards Camden/Philadelphia) and 6am for traffic heading 42s/76e (direction towards Atlantic City)
NJDOT clarifies that typically only 2 lanes of traffic in one direction will be closed at one time overnight, with at least one lane open to traffic.
Occasionally in the overnight effort, there is the possibility of 15 minute traffic stoppages on some nights to accommodate the removal of large pipes that span the bridge. Ramp closures and detours may also be needed.
Demolition of the Browning Road Bridge
The old Browning Road Bridge is being demolished so that a new bridge can be built in it’s place.
This is part of the $900+ Million dollar project to rebuild the Route 295/42/76 interchange to provide a more direct and streamlined flow of traffic.
Last Summer the Daily Journal was able to acquire specifications on the new bridge from the NJDOT. The new bridge will be more than 50% longer at 389 feet, and also wider with wider traffic lanes.
Additionally the new bridge will be almost 3 feet higher, which based on the length of the bridge I would believe it would be imperceptible to drivers.
To facilitate the demolition and rebuild of the Browning Road Bridge, NJDOT and their contractors already have in place a temporary bridge directly next to the old bridge, which accommodates traffic in both directions as well as a pedestrian walkway.
Demolition
The first step of the demolition project is to remove the pipe and conduit that runs under the old Browning Road Bridge, as well as the metal shielding.
That portion of the project is expected to take 2 weeks.
When that portion of the demolition project is complete, contractors will remove the decking of the old Browning Road Bridge, and then the steel roadway support girders.
Once all of the bridge structure is removed from over routes 295/76/42, the east and west abutments will be demo’d and moved further back.
The full demolition and abutment removal should be completed by this Spring (2022).
After the demolition is completed, work can begin on building the new bridge, but at this time NJDOT has not provided when that construction would start or an updated timeline.
Links and Location
Drone images in this article were provided by Mike Kruce Photo
Other Road coverage from 42Freeway can be found at this link.
Specific to the Browning Road Bridge bridge project:
- Oct 20, 21: The Bellmawr Temporary Browning Road Bridge Is Open, and We Walk It! Photos and Video!
- Aug 27, 21: Bellmawr Browning Rd Temporary Bridge In Place. Few More Weeks Before Traffic Uses
- Jul 16. 21: Bellmawr Browning Road Temporary Bridge Install Starts Next Week. Just the Beginning
- Jun 9,21: 295/42 Direct Connection Update: Browning Road Temp Bridge Construction To Start This Month (June 2021)