Community Corner

W. Park Blvd. Bridge to Remain Out Through Summer

The reconstruction project, which was to have been completed in three months, will take more than a year.

The project was supposed to be completed in three months, before last Christmas.

But now the West Park Boulevard Bridge, which sits in a mess of crumbled concrete behind a 6-foot chain-linked fence, will mostly stay that way until the end of September, Camden County officials announced this week.

Work is scheduled to resume on the West Park Boulevard Bridge in Haddon Township on or about June 24, according to a county news release.  The project is expected to take approximately 60 days to complete once the contractor has returned to the site. The exact timing of the project is dependent on the weather and other factors. The bridge will remain closed during this period.

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Construction was delayed after it was determined that the concrete poured in each arch section of the structure last fall did not meet Camden County or New Jersey State specifications due to an error by the concrete supplier. 

It was further delayed through winter because a gas utility pipeline that runs under the bridge could not be taken out of service. That delay stretched past March, when PSE&G originally said it could shut it down.

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Meanwhile, residents near the busy, two-lane road that connects into West End Avenue in Haddonfield, are complaining about additional traffic on side streets and a construction project that seems to have run amok.

"Are you kidding me?" a resident who lives on the corner of W. Park Boulevard and W. Walnut Ave. said when a reporter asked her what she thought of the delay.

"The concrete didn't pass. Does that surprise you?"

The woman, who declined to give her name, said she has lived here since 1954. She said she had to put a lock on the temporary cyclone-type fence at the foot of the bridge because some motorists and pedestrians continued to pass through, even though the bridge was exposed with gaping holes.

“We regret that the construction delays that have plagued this project have been an inconvenience to residents in the area,” said Freeholder Ian Leonard, liaison to the Camden County Department of Public Works, in a statement from the county.

“This project signifies a significant investment in Haddon Township, and will result in a much safer bridge and improved roadway.” 

After detailed analysis of several options, a structural retrofit that will be installed at the expense of the contractor has been approved by the structural engineer. This clears the way for the contractor to return to the bridge and resume construction.

The West Park Boulevard Bridge, originally constructed in 1923, is 47 feet 8 inches wide including sidewalks and 41 feet in length. When completed, the $273,788 project will include new concrete curbing and handicap ramps, new inlet and manhole castings, roadway striping and markings, and full resurfacing of the roadway approaching the bridge. 

The bridge reconstruction has necessitated the closure of West Park Boulevard (CR 641) from Walnut Avenue to Chestnut Street.  Motorists should continue to use Haddon Avenue as an alternate route.


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