 |
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD |
 |
||
|
||||
Website by: |
Dear Editor: Misinformation about Monmouth County’s West Front Street bridge project is causing unnecessary concern among residents. As Mayor, I feel it is my obligation to set the record straight. Accurate information was made available by the Monmouth County engineer’s office and their consultants at a public meeting on February 27. The bridge, built in 1921, is structurally deficient and functionally obsolete. It’s one of the most deficient bridges countywide, with a structural sufficiency rating of 7.0 out of a possible 100. Any bridge rating below 50 is eligible for federal funding to replace it. The deck was replaced in 2004 to keep the bridge safe for travel. This did not address the serious foundation deficiencies. Monmouth County considered many factors in their proposed designs, including existing conditions, community impact, and safety, before deciding the preferred option is to construct a new bridge just north of and very close to the existing bridge. This would allow the 21,000 motorists who travel West Front Street daily to continue using the bridge instead of being detoured through residential streets for up to two years. The project would require the county’s acquisition of a total of less than one quarter-acre of mostly marshland from affected property owners. No property owner will lose their home or substantial property through eminent domain. There’s no connection between the county bridge project and the township’s planned preservation of Chris’s River Plaza Marina. The property would be preserved as open space to protect it from substantial residential development. We don’t own the property, but currently are in negotiations. Under the preservation agreement, the township would enter into a lease with the property owner so he can continue operating the marina. The notion that the vertical bridge clearance would be increased to accommodate more or larger boats is not true. The river is so shallow there you can walk in it at low tide and there are no known plans to dredge the area. At no time have any township officials discussed with county representatives the bridge’s vertical clearance or navigational issues associated with future use of the marina. While the US Coast Guard will have more to say on the height issue, the county only plans to increase the navigational clearance by a maximum of 18 inches at any given point over what exists today. Middletown supports the bridge’s replacement, because such a project is clearly needed for the future safety of the public. The bridge design would also offer improved access to pedestrians walking between Middletown and Red Bank. A link to the county’s bridge presentation is available at www.middletownnj.org for those interested in the facts. Thomas G. Hall  |
|
| ||||||
