Kelly: The bridge that may never swing
Sunday August 12, 2012, 5:30 AM
By MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST
SOMETIME in the coming weeks, a new bridge will open across the Hackensack River. This is supposed to be a remarkable achievement. Really?
We are accustomed to think of public works projects as positive steps. When potholes get filled, we usually smile. The same is generally true when fresh grass is planted in a worn out park or when broken curbs and sidewalks are given a facelift and new lights are installed on a dark patch of road.
The same can’t be said of the soon-to-open Court Street Bridge in Hackensack.
Before you read further, you need to know that this is not just an ordinary bridge. Nor is it an ordinary public works project. This bridge repair was a decision by political figures who were told they had to spend money on “shovel ready” projects.
So they made a choice – the Court Street Bridge. For $19.2 million dollars, otherwise unemployed construction crews would have something to do. And the residents of Central Bergen County would have a refurbished bridge spanning the Hackensack River.
So far, so good, right?
A month after taking office in January 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the economic stimulus package. The idea was to pump federal dollars into construction projects and possibly jump start the sluggish economy and relieve the 17 percent unemployment in America’s construction trades.
New Jersey had choices to make, however. Most of the state’s bridges needed work. But bridges were just the tip of the construction iceberg. From roads to schools, the Garden State had plenty of places to spend the stimulus dollars.
How did it happen?
So how did the leaders of our state chose to spend almost $20 million on a two-lane bridge in Hackensack that was carrying only about half the vehicles each day in 2009 that it carried in 1980?
That question takes on even greater importance when you consider that only $26 million in federal stimulus aid had been earmarked for infrastructure repairs in Bergen County. So think of the Court Street Bridge as the big shark that gobbled up all the fish and left only a few minnows behind.
But the question of whether one project might suck away an unfair amount of stimulus cash did not seem to be an issue in 2009. The key factor was timing and a deadline for receiving the cash.
When the Obama administration gave America its economic stimulus plan, there was a catch. In order to receive money, states had to identify “shovel-ready” projects in which work could begin within 90 days. Believe it or not, the Court Street Bridge was one of the few local projects with plans already drawn up and a price tag that fell below the $26 million in infrastructure funds that were targeted for Bergen County.
So under the guidance of then-County Executive Dennis McNerney and the board of freeholders, the Court Street Bridge contract was signed. The bridge was closed for its repairs in June 2010. The work was supposed to be finished by Christmas 2011.
That deadline came and went – with the bridge not fixed. As of last week, construction crews were still hard at work. And if they finish by September – as they are promising to do – it will mean that 27 months were needed to fix a bridge that is only 89 feet long.
Efficiency?
This story gets worse.
For some bizarre reason the old Court Street Bridge, built in 1908, was considered a historic landmark – one of the oldest truss spans in New Jersey. It seems that the state Historic Preservation Office mandated that the county re-use pieces of the old bridge.
A needless demand
But when you consider that much of the old bridge was worn out and rusted, this might seem like an odd and needless demand. As a result, workers embarked in a time-consuming process of dismantling the bridge piece-by-piece without breaking any of the rusty historic pieces.
Now at this point, you might be asking: Why do we want to save an old, rusty bridge? Good question. It’s not as if George Washington marched over it.
But this is the kind of bureaucratic rule that were imposed on what should have been a simple bridge repair job.
Incredibly, the rules get worse.
The federal government designated the Hackensack River as a commercial waterway. For the bridge, this meant that it had to be designed to swing open to allow boats to pass by.
But there was a not-so-small problem.
The Hackensack River is so filled with silt that only small boats can navigate the part of the river near the Court Street Bridge. It’s been more than 15 years since the last barge floated by and the old truss bridge had to be opened.
So here is the final scorecard: North Jersey will soon have a new bridge that can swing open for large boats and barges. But no large boats can get near the bridge because the river is too clogged with mud and silt.
This is what is known as a stimulus package.
Mike Kelly is a Record columnist. Contact him at kellym@northjersey.com.
