Freeholders Announce Kiel Avenue Bridge in Kinnelon has Reopened in Time for Start of School Year

Replacement of the Kiel Avenue bridge in Kinnelon has been completed, and the bridge reopened today (Sept. 4) in time to handle school buses and other traffic for the start of the school year. 



Kiel Avenue bridge has reopened to traffic

Some finishing touches on the project will be completed on the Morris County project over the next week but traffic to local schools will be able to get through on Kiel Avenue.  

The bridge is vital to allowing easy access to two borough schools, the Kiel School and the Pearl R. Miller School, plus a local firehouse. During construction, the road was totally closed between Ricker Road and Louis Lane, requiring a detour to access the schools or firehouse.

Dave Scapicchio

“We are very glad this work was done quickly, to get the road open in time for the school year and avoid inconvenience for school buses and parents driving their kids to and from school,’’ said Morris County Freeholder David Scapicchio, who is the county governing board’s liaison on road and bridge projects. “Now we have a new bridge, which should serve this area for decades to come.’’


“We have been extremely pleased with the contractors, Ron Jon Construction and Roc John, who completed the project on time with minimal disruption,’’ said Kinnelon Mayor Bob Collins. The finished bridge will be not only functional for many years to come but also attractive with rock facing that fits the character of the town”

Kiel Avenue runs over a tributary to the Pequannock River. The Kiel Avenue bridge – officially known as Morris County Bridge Number 1400-190 -- was closed on July 7, when replacement work began. The replacement was needed because the existing bridge had deteriorated beyond repair.

The work, done by contractor Ron-Jon, consisted of the removal of the old ten-foot-long steel bridge and construction of a new three-sided, precast concrete culvert on a concrete foundation. Additional construction included adding stone-faced retaining walls and pylons, and an open 4-bar bridge railing. 

The new bridge is 12-feet feet long, and 28-feet wide. The average daily traffic volume on this road is under 500 vehicles. It is estimated that 3-percent of those vehicles are trucks. However, the replacement of the tiny bridge was especially important to the school district.

The construction cost is $343,810. The contractor still has finishing work to complete, such as landscaping, stone facing, traffic striping and slope stabilization before the bridge work is fully done.