Payne Road Bridge
NBI Information
Location
State: New Jersey
County: Hunterdon County
Feature Carried: Payne Road
Feature Crossed: Prescott Brook
Latitude, Longitude: 40.5954,-74.8588
Toll: On free road
Maintenance Responsibility: County Highway Agency
Structure Open, Posted, or Closed to Traffic: Open, no restriction
History
Year Built: 2021
Historical Significance: Bridge is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
Year Reconstructed: None
Picture Date: May 21, 2023
Geometry
Lanes on Structure: 2
Lanes under Structure: 0
Skew: 10 degrees
Number of Main Spans: 1
Main Structure Type: Box Beam or Girders - Multiple
Main Structure Material: Prestressed Concrete
Number of Approach Spans: 0
Approach Structure Type: None
Approach Structure Material: None
Condition
Inspection Date: April 2022
Deck Condition: Good
Superstructure Condition: Excellent
Substructure Condition: Excellent
Channel Condition: Good
Culvert: Not Applicable
NBI Year: 2023
Bridge Information
The original Payne Road Bridge was built in 1899 and was a three-panel pin-connected Pratt Half-Hip Pony Truss. The bridge was heavily altered over the years, and lost most of its historical significance.
The bridge was rebuilt from 2020 to 2021 by CMS Construction using adjacent box beams. The new bridge was designed to mimic the previous bridge. It appears that the original trusses were returned to their original state, and were repainted. These trusses were then mounted on top of the deck. While the attempt to maintain the historic look of the bridge is admirable, the design falls short. The new bridge is significantly wider than the old bridge, and it is very obvious that these trusses aren’t nearly large enough to support the load. In addition, placing the trusses on top of the bridge makes it even more obvious that they provide no structural importance. It would have been better to bolt them to the side of the fascia beams, or at least bury them in the concrete deck.
References
Historic Bridges: https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=newjersey/payne/
NJ.com: https://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/2010/02/hunterdon_sets_almost_65_milli.html
