Work began today on the replacement of the 117-year-old, single-lane Combs Hollow Road bridge in Mendham Township, and repairs are scheduled to start next week on the Hardscrabble Road bridge, which sits at the border of Mendham Borough and Mendham Township.

In addition, work is set to start this week on a county railroad bridge in Rockaway Township.

Combs Hollow Road bridge

Both Combs Hollow and Hardscrabble roads will be closed during construction, with detours installed.

Lightly traveled Combs Hollow Road bridge, a small single-span structure with stone masonry substructures, was built circa 1900. The 16-foot wide bridge has average daily traffic of about 200 vehicles.

Bulging abutment on Combs Hollow Road bridge

The new structure will be a precast concrete culvert with stone facing. The roadway curb-to-curb width will be expanded to two lanes totaling 26 feet. The contractor on the project is Konkus Corporation of Branchburg, which won a bid construction contract for $299,762. The project is being financed by county government funds.

The new Combs Hollow Road bridge is expected to open in early September in time for the start of the school year. Currently, a detour takes traffic to Doby Road, South Road, Ironia Road, Mountainside Road, and to Calais Road.

Work is expected to start next Monday, Aug. 7, on the Hardscrabble Road bridge, which was partially closed in the spring due to structural defects.

Side view of Hardscrabble Road bridge

Colonnelli Brothers Inc. of Hackensack is the contractor on the project for a bid price of $147,470. While the road is closed, a detour will take traffic to Jockey Hollow Road/Leddel Road to Tempe Wick Road.

The small arch bridge, which runs along the border of Mendham Borough and Mendham Township, has structural problems that has caused its partial closure and requires emergency repairs.

An inspection by the Morris County Bridge Division found that the bridge has developed a large foundational crack and the parapet wall has partially failed.

The stone masonry arch bridge is just six-feet long and 30-feet wide. It carries an average of 450 vehicles daily over a tributary to the Passaic River.

In a third bridge project to be undertaken, repair work is expected to start this week on the Dover-Rockaway Road railroad bridge in Rockaway Township.

Abraham General Contractor of West Orange was awarded the bid contract for $98,346 to do concrete repairs under the bridge, which dates to 1915.

Freight trains from the Dover & Rockaway Branch Railway traverse this bridge, which will remain open during the project.