PHILLIPSBURG, NJ – Construction is poised to begin soon on a new 4,000-square-foot salt-storage building that will serve Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22) Toll Bridge and several older and smaller non-toll spans owned and operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC).
The new building will have the appearance of a large barn, not a salt dome. It is to be built on vacant land the Commission owns south of Route 22 East in Phillipsburg. The property is bordered by the Commission’s administration building/maintenance garages to the east and Broad Street to the west.
The parcel is immediately adjacent to the location’s current undersized salt shed, which has a series of design and operational deficiencies. These include insufficient capacity, structural and drainage issues, poor lighting, and limited ingress/egress for purposes of unloading/loading road salt.
The new storage building will have capacity to store up to 2,000 tons of road salt. It will have an attached 400-square-foot open style lean-to on one side and a 400-square-foot enclosed shed on the other to house maintenance-related equipment and supplies.
The Commission issued a “Notice to Proceed” to the building’s contractor – Bracy Construction of Allentown, PA – on Tuesday (June 4). Bracy was awarded the project contract at the Commission’s April 29 meeting for a not-to-exceed amount of $1,711,600.
In addition to the new salt barn, the project will provide enhanced access for delivery trucks, bucket loaders, and other heavy equipment associated with winter-storm response efforts. The building also will provide maintenance crews with improved inside and outside lighting.
Other project elements include:
- Remove all existing trees and stumps within the designated areas.
- Remove curbs, sidewalks, pavement and concrete slab under existing shed.
- Relocated existing wooden shed to nearby location on the site.
- Remove and relocate two existing storm drainage lines and construction of new drainage inlets/manholes.
- Excavation and filling of the site, construction of curbs, sidewalks, and installation of full-depth pavement on site.
- Extend electrical service to the new salt storage facility and install LED lighting inside and around the structure.
- Landscaping of site including bedding and shrubbery along access roads.
The new facility is expected to be completed in time for the start of the cold-weather storm-response season in the fall.
The salt barn will primarily serve the 80-year-old Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge, the adjoining approach viaduct on the New Jersey side, the Commission-owned Route 22 approach roadway and bridge segments in Easton and Phillipsburg, and various exit/entry ramps near the bridge. The storage barn also will provide salt for maintenance vehicles servicing the following Commission toll-supported bridge locations: the Northampton Street (“free bridge”) Bridge between Easton and Phillipsburg; the Riverton Belvidere Bridge; the Riegelsville Bridge; the Upper Black Eddy-Milford Bridge; and the Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge.
