Officials: Devon Road Bridge in Worse Shape Than We Thought
Township committee members approve an additional $80,000 for the bridge's repairs.
After becoming “rudely awakened” about the true state of the Devon Road bridge, Committeeman Ben Young asked committee to approve $80,000 more for its repair at Monday night's township meeting.
Young said the extent of the issues with the bridge were not known until a contractor pulled the deck off to conduct repairs.
Over the years, Young said, water leaked through the road’s bed and caused more damage than engineers originally anticipated.
“There’s deterioration in the substructure,” Young said.
In June, a trash truck drove over the bridge and it partially collapsed. The walk-over part of the bridge had been closed for quite some time and since June, no cars have been able to drive over it, either.
Earlier this year, about $120,000 was allocated for the bridge’s repair. In July, officials approved $80,000 in emergency funds for further repairs.
Add the next round of $80,000, and the project is nearly at $300,000.
County engineers were called in recently to give their recommendation. Young said the additional funds are for pilings, cap plates and new sheathing. After it’s finished, the bridge should last several more decades, officials said.
The time frame is still the same for repairs, said township engineer Fred Turek. Construction should move quickly and be finished before the winter.
Young said the contractor is on standby until the township makes its final decision.
Another bridge in town, over Wayne Drive, is slated for a makeover too. But, that project probably won’t be tackled until next year. That bridge is safe for travelers however there is a 9-ton limit.
Stay with Patch as additional information comes in.
dajoepa75
7:18 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
I know the funding comes from different "pots" but when the completion of recreational projects takes priority over infrastructure there is something seriously wrong with our priorities. This didn't happen overnite and it was an issue way before our playgrounds, hill, etc. It would seem, at a local level, we'd have better control of what our priorities are and not follow same patterns of our larger state and federal governments.
Mark
8:10 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
dajoepa,
I could not agree more with you! The money spent on parks should have been offset until our bridges and roads were deemed safe.
Add another twist, I have very good information that the Wayne Drive Bridge is well outside the budget of what the township committee wants to spend, so there is talk of turning Wayne Drive into a cul-de-sac on either side of the bridge. I know the local authorities are NOT one bit happy about this recommendation.
Ric
9:39 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
@Mark. Turning Wayne Drive into a cul-de-sac by the bridge would be insane. Wayne Drive is a major road for the residents of Greentree, Wellington Park and Chadwyck.
Christina Paciolla
10:26 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Mark (and others),
I have spoken with township committee and learned that turning Wayne Drive into a cul-de-sac is not only not being considered, but has never even been discussed. And I cannot remember that ever being mentioned in all the township committee meetings I've ever been to—which is all of them.
Christina
Ric
10:46 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
@Chrisitina. Others thanks you.
Mark
10:58 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
@ Christina. I hope what you are saying is 100% accurate. I was at a meeting recently (not township meeting), where it was reported that a cul-de-sac is an option that could be considered. I like the outcome you are reporting MUCH better. Thank you for clearing that up by asking the committee members.
noyb
8:15 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
funding for parks and other things can not be used for a bridge repair.... other projects were started before this bridge thing came up. They had repairs scheduled but moved them up when the truck damaged it. Too bad they didnt know the truth about the Devon bridge. The thing that is concerning is that this bridge was suposedly "inspected" when the Hurricane came thru and it was deemed safe. Our committie seems to have the wool pulled over their eyes on everything.
Obviously it was not inspected properly or the inspector did a drive by. They never got out of the car and climbed under the bridge, if they did there is no way the would have been supprised at the repairs needed. My suggestion is to find a new inspector or someone from committie needs to put on some dirt shoes and go to the bridge with the inspector to watch him do his job. I dont mind my taxes paying for it, the bridge needs to be replaced so replace it. Thank god it didnt colapse completely when someone drove over it. But I do have a problem when 'we didn't know" needs more money... over, and over, and over again.
Fix the bridge and fire the incompetent person who said it only needed a make over.
Nancy VanTwistern
8:59 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Seems to be an awful lot of incompetence going arund in the area............and our taxes keep going up and up and up......................
Ric
9:36 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
@Nancy et al. About this time last year, after the hurricane, I expressed my concerns about the safety of the Devon Road Bridge at Patch - in the now deleted questions section. The township responded that upon inspection they deemed the bridge to be safe. Somehow during the winter the bridge went from safe to a disaster. I do not know what happened which caused the damage but it sure was not the snowfall since we had not any. One thing is certain; the bridge must have been unsafe last fall despite the township’s inspection.
We are fortunate that the bridge collapsed on a trash truck and not a school bus or even a nearby resident like me!
I am glad the bridge is finally getting rebuilt but this could have been avoided if the bridge had not been poorly maintained for at least a decade. But what the heck, we got great parks and we offer fancy cars to just about any township employee who wants one in the name of safety! Well at least the Sewer Authority is not involved in this debacle.
Deborah Stevens
9:28 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Wow another we didn't know time.....$$$$$$$$$
Random Person
12:23 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Too bad most of the officials in our town/county are greedy, corupt and careless individuals. Wish I could pocket tax payers money and not have a care in the world. Must be nice.
Val
4:40 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Does anyone know if the Wayne Ave bridge was inspected by the same company that inspected the Devon Bridge? Hearing that it is considered safe makes me a little concerned.
Ric
6:48 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Oh I hope not, that would be a mistake. To be safe I think I will use the Parry Road bridges.
Lori Weldon
5:52 pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
And of course Memorial Park Playground is not even close to being completed and I was told by the supervisor that it would be done by September. It was taken down in July because they had more people to work on it then, college kids, so the college kids are back in school and the playground is still just dirt.. thanks Cinnaminson as usual !!!
Cinnacide
12:45 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Here comes a political debate....
Cindy Pierson
1:55 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
I don't understand why we need to have an outside engineering firm on retainer in the first place, especially a firm that gave the township faulty information about the status of theDevon Road bridge. They did the second inspection after the incident with the truck, and were apparently wrong again. Why are they still on retainer? We have a township engineer - why didn't he handle the inspection? although he is also the head of public works - which is a full time job by itself. maybe if he was a full time engineer, we wouldn't need the other engineering firm.
Ric
9:24 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Amen. I agree with you 1000%. I just wonder who was responsible for checking the bridge over the years - was it the engineering firm or the township? Because the bridge should have never deteriorated like it had. The wooden walkway rotted at least a decade ago. That alone should have warned whoever was inspecting the bridge. We are so lucky the bridge did not collapse on a school bus.
dajoepa75
1:28 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
I asked this question on the first article about the Devon Road bridge and don't remember a response. What are the duties of the township engineer versus the engineering firm contracted by the township?
noyb
8:09 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
I might not be 100% correct here but I am fairly sure you or your firm must be licensed by the state of NJ to perform a bridge inspection on a public road. I dont think the township engineer or anyone on commitie has the proper training or education to perform a bridge inspection. But I know for a fact that it was recently inspected and deemed safe and sound. The inspector would have had to submit a report on the condition of the bridge(s) that he or his firm inspected. There is record of it out there somewhere but I assure you we will never see it.
FIRE the firm or inspector and build a new bridge. Its our bridge and it need to be replaced so replace it.
Dan
8:12 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
noyb..........totally agree with you! Someone goofed......costing us more money! 80,000 we could have added another cop.............guess we could have turned the area into another sledding hill.......just sayin'
noyb
9:19 am on Sunday, September 16, 2012
I don't think they cost us more money.... the bridge is bad so it needs to be replaced. Time and weather damaged the bridge not the township officials ect... Now we could argue that had it been inspected properly over the past we may not have to replace it today, but we cant change what has happend only make changes for the future to prevent it from happening again.
I honestly feel this calls for an investigation into the who, what, why and how... it should have been caught a long time ago. That is the job of a bridge inspetctor they obviously didn't do their job. BTW, I want a refund on the fees paid to have the bridge inspected for the past 10 years! Since it wasn't done then I think they owe US some money!
Ric
10:38 am on Sunday, September 16, 2012
Kind of funny how the top township officials are in such an uproar over losing $600k by reassessments that they want to spend an extra $200k to reassess the whole township. But not one of them seems to blink an eye over the at least $300k we will to spend to repair a bridge with a dubious inspection record. How much could it cost to investigate what happened at Devon Road Bridge? Cannot be anywhere near what the reassessment will cost us. And how more will it cost to repair the bridge?
The Voice
6:31 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013
Wyane would be a great culta sac
The Voice
6:20 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013
Wyane drive is like a raceway with cars frequently doing well above the 25mph speed limit. Making it a dead end is a great idea! It is easy to get to all the surrounding homes From many different streets, and just think of all the kids and parents who would be able to safely walk on wyane to look at the turtles and fish in the creek. Great idea for the town!