The Allenwood-Lakewood Road (Squan) Bridge, Wall Township, N.J. (Credit: Google Earth)
A bridge that links northern Brick Township with Wall Township – and the rest of Monmouth County – has been shut down after an inspection revealed it to be in need of repairs.
The Monmouth County Commissioners released a statement Thursday saying the “W3 Bridge,” a small span that crosses the extreme narrows of the Manasquan River along Allenwood-Lakewood Road would close to traffic. The bridge is located northeast of the Brick reservoir in Wall Township and serves as an artery between the two towns and, thus, the two counties. It straddles the county border near Brice Park and the Allenwood Elementary School.
The bridge was closed “after a normal routine inspection revealed necessary repairs related to the bridge deck,” the statement from Monmouth County said.
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“After the discovery of the necessary repairs to the bridge deck during a routine inspection, the county closed Bridge W-3 so that our engineers can begin to evaluate next steps to reopen the bridge as quickly and safely as possible,” said Commissioner Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering. “Monmouth County is committed to the safety of our residents and drivers so we implore those driving in the area to follow the detours that have been established by the Department of Public Works and Engineering.”
The Allenwood-Lakewood Road (Squan) Bridge, Wall Township, N.J. (Credit: Google Earth)
Also known as the “Squan Bridge,” the structure was installed in 1992, ostensibly as a temporary span to replace another bridge that had failed in 1985 after an overweight truck crushed a piling. That bridge, first installed in 1943, was moved to a county-owned maintenance yard, but was never restored or replaced. Construction on a new, permanent bridge had originally been slated to begin in 1997, but never materialized.
The National Bridge Inventory indicated 4,891 vehicles use the crossing every day. The county did not provide an estimate as to when traffic flow would be restored, nor when repair work would begin. Alternatives to reach Monmouth County from Brick include a more westerly crossing at Hospital Road several miles to the northwest, or the Sept. 11 Memorial Bridge on Route 70, which connects Brick and Brielle.
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