Warwick rushing to replace collapsed culvert bridge

Warwick Township is trying to speed up the design of a culvert bridge after the original bridge collapsed.
Administrator Amanda Gubbels says the culvert bridge on First School Road between Confederation Line and Zion Line collapsed last week. The municipality knew it needed to be replaced. Last year there had been a couple of washouts in the area. But Gubbels says they repaired the bridge and hoped it would hold until construction season this year.
But the bridge couldn’t handle the excessive rains this spring and there was a complete collapse.
“We are all really grateful no one was hurt, and it is fortunate that while it does affect landowners and farmers and it is definitely an inconvenience, it doesn’t limit access for anyone to their property… There is no access to homes affected.”
Gubbels says the municipality had set aside about $231,000 to replace the bridge and the design work was already underway when it collapsed.
She says officials briefly considered if a different type of bridge should be installed, but decided against it.
“To change the design when we already have this planned wouldn’t give us any additional time… it wouldn’t speed anything up.”
Gubbels says the municipality is “pushing to have the bridge designed as quickly as possible” so they can put the project out for bids.
She’s hopeful work can begin on the new culvert bridge in about three months. “The sooner, the better,” Gubbels says.