BergerWorld: 2nd Quarter 2008

The Sussex County Bridge K-07, located between Byram Township and the Borough of Hopatcong, was constructed in 1911 over the Lackawanna Cutoff Railroad on County Route 605. Because the original single-span, filled-spandrel, reinforced concrete arch bridge was determined to be structurally obsolete with severely substandard approach roadway geometry, the Berger Group was retained by NJDOT to prepare final designs for the replacement of the bridge. Because the bridge was evaluated as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and a contributing resource for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Cut-Off Historic District, historic preservation and context sensitive design were important components of the assignment.

The replacement bridge, located along a new alignment, supports a roadway consisting of a 12-foot-wide lane and 10-foot-wide shoulder in each direction. The new precast concrete arch with a 60-foot span is supported by pedestal abutment walls to provide the vertical clearance for the future reactivation of railroad service. The original bridge is being rehabilitated for pedestrian and bicycle use.