Project on Budget and Ahead of Schedule

TRENTON, N.J.—Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes today announced that Bakers Basin Bridge has reopened to the motoring public. Project completion has been eagerly anticipated on this heavily traveled route, and Mr. Hughes said the project was on budget and ahead of schedule. The project was completed three weeks in advance of the scheduled date. Mercer County Department of Transportation and Infrastructure had announced the full replacement of the 80-year-old bridge in August, and the Notice to Proceed was Sept. 10, 2018.

Officially known as Bridge No. 543.1 on Bakers Basin Road, the structure traverses the Shipetaukin Creek located in Lawrence Township.

The original bridge carrying Bakers Basin Road over the Shipetaukin Creek was considered structurally deficient due to poor condition of the substructure, with a sufficiency rating of 45.6 on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being the best and 0 being the worst.

The replacement bridge is a single-span structure supported on full height pre-cast abutments. The proposed cross section at the bridge is two 12-foot travel lanes, two 5-five foot shoulders and one 6-foot sidewalk and four-rail bridge railings. The superstructure will consist of reinforced concrete beams with 3/8” MMA (methyl methacrylate) polymer concrete overlay. The substructure is founded on precast spread footings.

Midlantic Construction, LLC of Barnegat, New Jersey was the successful low bidder at $1,651,142.