PARSIPPANY, NJ — Acrow, an international bridge engineering and supply company, announces that it has designed and supplied a modular steel bridge to maintain three lanes of traffic during a lengthy construction project on the Garden State Parkway in northern New Jersey. Because the route is so heavily traveled, and is a major link to the state’s popular shore areas, a temporary bridge was considered necessary to the success of the multiyear project.

The Garden State Parkway bridge over the Passaic River, U.S. Route 46 and River Drive was completed in 1955 and carries three lanes each of bidirectional traffic between the City of Clifton and the Borough of Elmwood Park. In recent years, as the bridge approached the end of its useful life, deterioration of the superstructure and deck had led to the need for priority repair projects.

The Acrow 700XS bridge was selected for the project by contractor IEW Construction Group and will maintain southbound traffic for the duration of construction. It has an overall length of 980 feet, which includes 18 spans of 40 feet each as well as north and south approach spans of 120 and 140 feet, respectively. The structure is 36 feet wide to accommodate three lanes of traffic and has an asphalt surface with an AASHTO HL-93 load rating.

The materials for Acrow’s modular bridge arrived at the small, restricted site, despite limited access for delivery trucks. Further challenging was the long length of the temporary structure, which necessitated building it from both sides then launching to join at the center pier. The bridge was successfully installed adjacent to the southbound lanes of the existing bridge.

Southbound traffic was then switched to the temporary bridge, and IEW is working on replacing the existing southbound bridge. Once the southbound bridge is finished, IEW will put northbound traffic onto the new southbound bridge while maintaining southbound traffic on the temporary bridge. Acrow’s structure will be in use until southbound traffic is shifted back to the new bridge.

“Acrow’s modular steel bridge has proved an excellent solution for this complex and lengthy project,” said Bob Rose, Acrow’s Northeast Sales Manager. “Safe, cost-effective, and reliable, our detour bridges are an effective way for DOTs, agencies, and other contractors to minimize work zone impact on motorists and local businesses while keeping projects on or ahead of schedule.”

“In addition to increasing safety for motorists, highway improvement projects such as these support job growth and economic development,” said Russ Parisi, Vice President North America at Acrow. “Acrow’s modular steel detour bridges are an ideal way to keep traffic moving during priority projects, saving time and money.”