Rt. 9/522, Section 23E

The Rt. 9/522, Section 23E project involved bridge reconstruction and interchange reconfiguration. The project consisted of the widening and reconstructing a one mile section of Rt. 9. Rt. 9 is one of the heaviest travelled highways in NJ, so traffic control and safety is a major aspect of the project. The section of Rt. 9 was converted from 2 lanes in the northbound and southbound direction, to 3 lanes in each direction, plus acceleration and deceleration lanes for traffic entering and exiting Monmouth County Route 522. In order to accomplish this, we also had to demolish and rebuild an existing bridge, and reconfigure all entrance and exit ramps between Rt 522 and Rt 9.

The new bridge is 216’ long x 134’ wide. It is made of a reinforced concrete deck supported by twenty one steel girders on a cast in place concrete substructure. The substructure consists of two abutments and a center pier. The concrete was cast with an architectural formliner and has a colored stain applied to better blend the bridge into its historic surroundings. The bridge carries Rt 9 over an existing CONRAIL freight line, and Monmouth County Route 522. The new bridge construction and existing bridge demolition was performed in stages in order to minimize any lane closings along Rt 9. The first stages of construction included new northbound and southbound bridges along the outside of the existing structure. Once those sections were completed, traffic was split and shifted onto the newly constructed outer bridges. At that time, demolition of the existing bridge took place and construction of the inner northbound and southbound lanes were then completed.

Many other tasks were included in this project. Among them are new roadway drainage, total pavement reconstruction, highway lighting, 16” diameter water main relocation, major utility relocations, two sign structures, sidewalks/curbs and new site landscaping. Final completion of this project was accomplished a year and a half ahead of the determined project schedule date.