Roseland Mayor John Duthie Joins County Officials Announcing Reopening of Eagle Rock Avenue Bridge

by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com
Published 6:10am

From left: Morris County Freeholder Tom Mastrangelo, an unnamed Morris County employee, Morris County Freeholder Dave Scapicchio, Roseland Mayor John Duthie, East Hanover Mayor Joseph Pannullo, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., East Hanover Business Administrator and West Caldwell Mayor Joseph Tempesta, Essex County Freeholder Patricia Sebold, Essex County Public Works Director and Engineer Sanjeev Varghese, Roseland Councilman Dave Jacobs and Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura Credit: Essex County

EAST HANOVER / ROSELAND, NJ - On Friday, Roseland Mayor John Duthie joined 
Roseland Councilman Dave Jacobs, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., East Hanover Business Administrator and West Caldwell Mayor Joseph Tempesta, Essex County Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura, East Hanover Mayor Joseph Pannullo, Essex County Public Works Director and Engineer Sanjeev Varghese, Essex County Chief Supervising Inspector Mark A. Capone, and members of the Essex County and Morris County Board of Freeholders to announce the Eagle Rock Avenue Bridge has been re-opened to traffic, three weeks ahead of schedule.  

The 161-foot bridge crosses the Passaic River and connects Morris and Essex Counties and links East Hanover and Roseland. Normally, the bridge carried between 20,000 and 25,000 vehicles daily over the Passaic River until it was closed on May 18 to undergo a four-month replacement project due to the advanced deterioration of the bridge superstructure.

On Wednesday, Roseland announced that the bridge would be open with some restrictions at 5pm. Some finishing touches were completed by the Chester-based contractor, Konkus Corporation, whch included metal brackets removed from the sides of the bridge, guide rail posts attached and traffic signals reconnected. Landscaping work will be finished up over the coming week.

“Eagle Rock Avenue provides an important link between
our two communities and two counties and we are grateful that reconstruction of the bridge was completed ahead of schedule," Duthie expressed.
"We welcome the modern infrastructure and enhanced safety, and look forward to seeing our residents return to the regular routes they are used to traveling."

In 2012, the project was originally anticipated to be a twelve-month project; it was postponed due to replacement of a bridge on Route 10. The $2.2 million construction project cost was shared between Essex and Morris counties.

“Eagle Rock Avenue is a major thoroughfare and we are pleased to work with Morris County to modernize the bridge and
complete the project three weeks ahead of schedule,” said DiVincenzo.
"Providing the most up to date infrastructure enhances the safety of our roadways, our residents’ quality of life, and promotes local economic activity."

For four months, drivers have dealt with a detour about five-miles long which directed traffic onto Eisenhower Parkway, Route 280 and Ridgedale Avenue. East Hanover Mayor Pannullo thanked the township residents and business owners for their patience throughout the construction project. 

“All of us have been inconvenienced by this project," Panullo said,
"however, public safety is always paramount.
We needed to be sure of the safety of this span, which is truly a gateway into Morris County; replacing this bridge was the responsible thing to do.”

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