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Freeholder Board approves plan to replace Netherwood Avenue bridge in Plainfield


Union County Freeholder Board approves plan to replace Netherwood Avenue bridge in Plainfield
1,400 cars and trucks daily cross 89-year-old bridge

Union County, NJ – The Union County Freeholder Board approved a $2.2 million dollar plan to replace the Netherwood Avenue Bridge which connects Plainfield and North Plainfield over the Green Brook. More than 1,400 cars and trucks cross the bridge, which was constructed in 1928, on a daily basis.

“This is an important roadway that feeds traffic off Mountain Avenue from Route 22 and leads into the Netherwood Train station,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen. “The bridge was declared structurally deficient, and the project will consist of demolition of the current structure and the construction of a new bridge.”

The County finished construction earlier this year on the Raymond Avenue Bridge in Plainfield at a similar cost. The bridge, which also crosses the Green Brook, connects Union County, Watchung and North Plainfield, and is considered a structural twin of the Netherwood Avenue Bridge.

Other bridge/culvert reconstruction projects scheduled to occur over the next few years for Plainfield include the Pemberton Avenue Bridge, the Stelle Avenue Bridge, and Watchung Avenue Culvert.

“Plainfield is a major regional transportation hub, and the Union County Freeholder Board has an ongoing commitment to maintain and improve its network of roads, bridges and culverts throughout the city,” said Freeholder Linda Carter, a resident of Plainfield.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation provided $1 million in funding, and the County of Union will provide approximately $1.2 million for the new Netherwood Avenue Bridge. The Freeholder Board on Thursday awarded the contract to Rencor Inc. of Somerville, NJ, and construction is anticipated to begin in September, and expected to finish by late summer next year.

There are 18 bridges/culverts over the Green Brook between the City of Plainfield and the Borough of North Plainfield, and the management and repair of which are shared by the counties of Somerset and Union. Somerset is responsible for the bridges to the west of Watchung Avenue, and Union is responsible for those to the east.

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