Alexander Street on schedule to reopen Friday morning

New Jersey Department of Transportation and Mercer County bridge project roadwork is expected to be completed by the end of the day Thursday, and Alexander Road is slated to reopen Friday, May 15, at 8 a.m., state officials said.

The separate bridge replacement projects replaced three bridges near each other on Alexander Street/Road in Princeton and West Windsor. Mercer County replaced two bridges and the NJDOT replaced one bridge.

NDJOT Alexander Road Bridge over D&R Canal Replacement

The NJDOT project replaced the bridge over the D&R Canal between Princeton and West Windsor, which was built in 1948 and was in poor condition. The existing structure was a three-span, simply supported, timber stringer-type bridge with a timber deck overlaid with asphalt. There was a 6-foot wide timber sidewalk on each side with continuous, rolled steel beams below. The existing structure featured one travel lane in each direction and no shoulders.

The new bridge is a single-span consisting of a beam-supported concrete deck on reinforced concrete abutments.  The outer edge of the structure and concrete wingwalls feature a wood façade.  The new bridge railings and guiderail meet current standards and the design is respectful of the historic nature of the D&R Canal and surrounding area. The new roadway consists of two 12-foot lanes, two 5-foot shoulders and two 5-foot wide timber sidewalks with concrete curbs.

Mercer County Bridge over Stony Brook and Bridge over Alexander Creek Replacements

The Mercer County project replaced two structures – the bridge over the Stony Brook and the Bridge over Alexander Creek, which are north of the D&R Canal.  The existing truss bridge over the Stony Brook was installed in 1989 as a temporary replacement to the structure in place at the time.  Construction of a permanent bridge became a priority as the truss bridge has begun to deteriorate and the width was not adequate to accommodate bus and truck traffic. Bridge railings and guiderail were upgraded to meet current standards and the design is respectful of the historic nature of the D&R Canal and surrounding area.

The bridge just north of Basin Street over Alexander Creek also was replaced due to deteriorated structural conditions. Both bridges were built with the same roadway configuration as the new D&R Canal Bridge being constructed by NJDOT.