By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Cherry Hill Sun
Construction is slated to be finished this summer for one of the main arteries in the township’s extensive roadway system, according to township representatives.
Covered Bridge Roadway is one of the most traveled roads in the 260-miles of local roadway in Cherry Hill and was scheduled for repair in mid-2009. This past October the township received funding from the state Department of Transportation for $250,000 to complete the last leg of reconstruction for Covered Bridge Road to Forge Road.
Covered Bridge Road is a main roadway for the Barclay Farm neighborhood and is home to the historic Cherry Hill Covered Bridge that turned 50 years old in 2009. Field work, survey and design for this road were completed in early 2009.
The roadway leading up to the historic Scarborough Covered Bridge was reconstructed in the summer of 2009 using state funds. The roadway went through a first phase of repairs to resurface the surface leading from Route 70 to Beaverbrook Road.
Chief of Staff Dan Keashen said a number of residents have been contacting the township and asking when construction on the road would begin. He assured residents that construction will begin in the next several weeks.
It’s an important roadway in the township, he said, and needs to be completed quickly and efficiently. The project has already been put out to bid and the township council will review the packages and award the contract shortly, he said.
“Construction will start in the next month. It’s a pretty high-volume local roadway. People are on it on a regular basis, and people are wondering when it will be repaved,” Keashen said. “It is coming. The quality control reports are being done now and hopefully within the next month we’ll have contractors.”
The first phase of the project also included repairs to the historic bridge in 2009. The bridge was structurally sound but some repairs were needed to ensure the bridge wouldn’t suffer extensive damage.
A number of boards throughout the bridge were damaged through the year and needed to be replaced.
The Department of Public Works also completed extensive infrastructure repairs under the bridge itself.
Scarborough Covered Bridge was built in 1959 and designed by architect Malcolm Wells. Built across the Cooper River’s North bank, it was commissioned by homebuilder Bob Scarborough, according to township representatives.
It was dedicated on Valentine’s Day in 1959, according to the township, which saw dozens of couples come out to the bridge to celebrate. The township recreated the original dedication in early 2009 for the covered bridge’s 50th anniversary.
