Replacing a 1905 Truss Over the Passaic River
Some bridges outlast their era by decades. The Fair Lawn Avenue Bridge in Passaic County served its community for well over a century before the two-span steel truss structure built in 1905 reached the point where replacement was the only responsible path forward. Our team is providing construction inspection services for the demolition of the original bridge and construction of its modern successor.
The replacement structure is a two-span continuous bridge approximately 270 feet in length, comprised of built-up welded steel plate girders composite with a high-performance reinforced concrete deck. The girders are supported by laminated elastomeric bearings on a single reinforced concrete center pier cap and reinforced concrete abutments. Foundation conditions varied across the site, requiring three distinct approaches: drilled micropiles at the east abutment, driven H-piles at the west abutment, and 42-inch-diameter drilled shafts at the center pier cap.
More Capacity, Better Access, Modern Standards
The new bridge carries traffic in both directions and introduces a dedicated left-turn lane at the intersection with Route 20 in Paterson, addressing a longstanding operational deficiency at one of the corridor’s busiest movements. A pedestrian sidewalk ensures the crossing serves all users, not just vehicles.
Additional construction elements include steel sheet piles, guide rail, highway lighting, traffic signals, electrical work, drainage improvements, ADA-compliant curb ramps, HMA paving, and striping. For a crossing that dates back to the Roosevelt administration, the replacement delivers a structure built for the traffic, the pedestrians, and the standards that today’s corridor demands.