'Deteriorating' Route 4 Bridge To Be Replaced

by Megan Merrigan

State transportation officials are in the early stages of a $20 million plan to replace the structurally deficient Grand Avenue Bridge along Route 4 in Englewood.

The federally funded project, which would break ground in 2018, aims to replace the bridge, improve the location of bus stops along the stretch and address current safety hazards found in an 82-month study of the area conducted by the state Department of Transportation.

“Every couple of years they inspect the bridge and they rate it, and when you compare the latest rating with the previous rating, they found it is deteriorating very quickly,” Erich Hizer, the senior project manager for Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. (GPI), said at a recent Englewood City Council meeting, where the DOT presented its plans.

The Grand Avenue Bridge has a sufficiency rating —an overall rating of a bridge’s fitness —of 47.8, making it eligible for full funding from the Federal Highway Association (FHWA).  The FHWA provides funding for bridges with sufficiency ratings below 50, according to Hizer.

Because of the 82-year-old bridge’s worsening conditions, the department decided the time to address its issues is now, considering the project will require what the DOT predicts to be five years of planning before construction begins.

The project is currently in the second of five phases and has no definitive design details at this point.

Plans include a signalized intersection at Van Nostrand Avenue and Grand Avenue, increasing the width of the shoulders on both the eastbound and westbound sides of the highway and adding acceleration and deceleration lanes to help combat the amount of crashes in the area.

Between 2007 and 2009 there were a reported 370 accidents on Route 4 near Grand Avenue, most of which occurred while merging into traffic without an acceleration lane, according to research from the DOT.

Plans presented by GPI include adding separate lanes for vehicles entering on and off of the highway via the ramps, eliminating the need to merge directly into traffic.

In addition to the current lack of acceleration and deceleration lanes, the locations of both the eastbound and westbound bus stops are a point of concern, Hizer said.

Currently, both bus stops are located in areas that can potentially obstruct the view of motorists.

“Every time we’re out there, every couple of minutes there’s a bus stopped.  So, we have to make sure we accommodate transit users and pedestrians,” Hizer said.

After construction, the bus stops will be pushed up farther to provide less of a hazard to drivers.

“It’s not a fantastic location for a bus stop,” Hizer said of the new plans. “But, based on the environment, we think it’s the best stop...the best location, we could find in this area.”

GPI was also advised by the city’s police department to address the existing off and on ramp currently located at Rockwood Place.

“Poor design, 90 degree turns off and on, the speed of the highway, it’s in unsafe condition,” Hizer said of the ramp.

GPI proposed eliminating the Rockland Place ramp and implementing a more traditional ramp, which would omit the need to drive through residential areas when entering and exiting the highway.

Four Rockland Place properties will be impacted by the construction of the project, which would turn a portion of the residential area into a cul-de-sac.

Councilwoman Lynne Algrant said she thought property owners would find it worthwhile to lose a piece of their backyard if it means eliminating the constant traffic resulting from the highway’s current layout.

“There are trade-offs here,” Hizer said.  

As far as traffic is concerned, GPI looked at traffic data in the area over the course of several years and devised a plan to maintain the flow of traffic once construction of the project begins.

During construction, traffic will be maintained by keeping both eastbound and westbound lanes open during peak traffic hours.  Lane reduction will only take place during off-peak time periods, according to Hizer.

As of now, the construction is tentatively scheduled to be completed by the year 2020.

“It’s not a perfect solution,” Hizer said.  “We’re trying to make the best of it.”