| Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge | |
|---|---|
The Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge in December 2011, facing northwest towards Highlands, New Jersey |
|
| Carries | 4 lanes of Route 36, pedestrians and bicycles |
| Crosses | Shrewsbury River |
| Locale | Highlands, New Jersey and Sandy Hook, New Jersey |
| Opened | Original bridge: 1933 New bridge completed in 2011 |
The Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge was a 1,240-foot drawbridge, built in 1932 and opened the following year, to connect Highlands, New Jersey in the west to Sea Bright, New Jersey in the east, across the Shrewsbury River.[1] The eastern terminus is at the entrance to Sandy Hook. The span is part of Route 36. Between 2008 and 2011 it was replaced with a fixed-span bridge instead of a bascule bridge. It rises 65 feet (20 m), taller than the original span's 35-foot measurement.[2][3]
In October 1991, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) recommended the replacement of the Highlands draw bridge with a 55-foot fixed-span bridge. According to an engineering study, replacement was believed to save $20 million over the cost-improvement actions outlined in a previous report that recommended extensive upgrades and partial replacement of bridge deck and superstructure. From August 1991 to 2002, several reports and studies by the NJDOT determined the general design and requirements for the replacement bridge. Of the many possible options one notable alternative was to build a second drawbridge and maintain both at the same time. By February 2002 the option of a 65-foot-tall (20 m) fixed-span bridge was approved, and by 2007 the design of the bridge was complete and the contract awarded to R.H. & Ried with a budget of $124 million.
The new bridge is 75 ft tall (23 m) and consists of two individual 1,610-foot-long spans (490 m) resting on nine hollow precast concrete columns. The spans are made of approximately 150 precast, post tensioned concrete box girders weighing between 30 and 70 tons each and achieve spans nearly twice the length of the steel spans of the original bridge. Because the new bridge was built in place of the old bridge, workers needed to demolish half of the old bridge and then construct half of the new bridge. After the first half of the new bridge was completed traffic was shifted to the new span, and the other half of the old bridge was demolished, making way for the second half of the new bridge. Construction of the new bridge began in February 2008 and was opened to traffic in December 2010. The entire project was completed in the spring of 2011. A ribbon-cutting ceremony occurred on May 1, 2011 to dedicate the newly constructed bridge. Several state and local officials attended the ceremony.[4]
| Built | Bridge type | Construction material | Life span | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1872 | Beam bridge | Wood | 3 years | Destroyed by vessel collision 1875 |
| 1878 | Beam bridge, swing bridge | Wood/steel | 71 years | Roadway removed 1933, demolished 1949 |
| 1932 | Beam bridge, bascule bridge | Concrete coated steel girders, concrete columns | 76 years | Demolished 2009 |
| 2011 | Fixed cantilever bridge | Prestressed/post tensioned concrete | 100 years (estimated) | First span completed in November 2009, second span in 2010, entire project completed in the spring of 2011 |