Police and personnel from the Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the cause of a fire that engulfed two homes in Middletown early Sunday morning, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said on Monday.
Continue reading Prosecutor: Middletown Fire Under Investigation
A three-judge appellate court panel issued a decision last week upholding the 2014 murder conviction of a Middletown man accused of bludgeoning his wife with a frying pan and strangling her to death in the kitchen of their West Front Street home.
Continue reading Prosecutor: Appellate Court Upholds 2014 Middletown Murder Conviction
A former Monmouth County Municipal Court judge, who was on the bench in Rumson among other area towns, has pleaded guilty to falsifying records in connection with a scheme of fixing municipal court dispositions to benefit several municipalities where he served as a judge, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said on Friday. His plea forever disqualifies Thompson from being a municipal court judge or holding any other public employment.
The Fair Haven community is mourning the loss of former resident Christopher Rumph, who will be remembered at a service on Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Thompson Memorial Home in Red Bank.
The following is his obituary, as prepared by his family and shared by Thompson …
Christopher Charles Rumph was born on August 1, 1952 and passed away peacefully on September 22, 2017. Chris was a humble, hilarious, and giving man. He left the physical world in the comfort of his own home surrounded by his wife and children after a courageous fight against cancer over the last four years.
Continue reading Memorial Set for Former Fair Havenite Chris Rumph, 65
An area man is facing up to 61 years in NJ state prison on sexual assault charges stemming from incidents spanning 2008 to 2009 involving preying on four young male video-gamers using an X-Box gaming system as a tool to sexually abuse the boys, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Monday.
Continue reading Prosecutor: Area Man Found Guilty of Sexual Assault of Young Boys
From the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office …
A Middletown woman pleaded guilty Friday to leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident and endangering the welfare of her juvenile passengers, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Continue reading Area Woman Pleads Guilty to 2015 Fatal Hit-and-Run
If you’re planning on crossing the West Front Street Bridge anytime soon, plan an alternate route.
Utility relocation work and intersection reconstruction on both sides of the West Front Street Bridge (otherwise known as Hubbard’s Bridge) will begin at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12.
To facilitate the utility work and additional intersection reconstruction, the bridge will be closed to all motor vehicle traffic for two weeks. Weather permitting, the work should be completed by Aug. 26, allowing for the reopening of the bridge in advance of Labor Day weekend.
“We met the primary goal of having the new bridge and open in time for the Memorial Day weekend,” Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone said in a press release. “The utility companies must now relocate their lines and equipment before the bridge contractor can work and complete the remaining work for the project.
Continue reading Caution: West Front Street Bridge Closing Coming
An extra push with work on the Oceanic Bridge will allow for a weekend opening from Friday evening through Monday morning, Monmouth County officials announced.
Officials said in a release that work has been ongoing around the clock since 6 a.m. on Monday.
Harms Construction, the company doing the work, have assured that the work will be complete by next Friday, June 12, on schedule.
Work on the south side of the drawbridge that spans the Navesink River from Rumson to Middletown will start again on Monday at 6 a.m. 24 hours a day in two 12-hour shifts, a release from the county said.
County officials added that the bridge is open only to marine traffic with the usual season rules and scheduling applying.
Oceanic Bridge background information from the county …
“The 2,712-foot drawbridge crosses the Navesink River and serves beach, commercial and residential traffic, as well as pedestrian and bicycle travel. It is also a key route for coastal evacuations and emergency vehicles headed to hospitals or providing mutual aid. The bridge has been classified as structurally deficient.
“Built in 1939, the Oceanic Bridge has deteriorated due to decades of exposure to saltwater and from accommodating heavier vehicles and traffic volumes than for which it was designed.
“In 2012, Monmouth County completed extensive work to rehabilitate the bridge’s 100-foot, center bascule span, allowing motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to continue use of the bridge.
“Monmouth County received notification from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) Board of Trustees in January that $600,000 in federal funding was available to perform a Concept Development Study for the replacement or rehabilitation of the Oceanic Bridge.
“Monmouth County plans to replace the Oceanic Bridge in the next ten years.”
Call it a little unexpected gift for Rumson-Fair Haven area residents — and many more.
Just when you thought it was closed for a few weeks that many dreaded, the Oceanic Bridge will be open for the weekend.
Why the unexpected respite from complete closure? Monmouth County officials explained it in the following press release:
“Since 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, around the clock work to repair bearings on the north side of the Oceanic Bridge (S-31) has been under way; the work has progressed on schedule and will be shifting to the south side at 6 a.m. on Monday, June 1.
‘This affords us a unique opportunity to open the Oceanic Bridge to traffic on Saturday evening, May 30, and all day and night Sunday, May 31,’ said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering. ‘I have spoken with our contractor, Harms Construction, who anticipates shifting the repair operation to the other side of the bridge late Saturday afternoon; we have agreed to open the bridge to all traffic by Saturday evening.’
Harms Construction Co. Inc. of Howell will resume work at 6 a.m. Monday, June 1 on the south side of the structure that spans the Navesink River and connects Rumson to Middletown. Harms crews will be working 24 hours a day, in two 12-hour shifts, to have the work completed by June 12.
The Oceanic Bridge has been closed to all but marine traffic since 6 a.m. Tuesday, May 26. For marine traffic, seasonal rules and scheduling are in effect.
‘A previous Oceanic Bridge repair project revealed deterioration in two areas not readily or previously accessible,’ said Arnone. ‘Two of the bridge’s four main bearings support the bascule and flanking spans on the bridge approaches.’
Ettore explained that the nature of the repair work requires that the bridge load be relieved by lifting the bascule and approach spans off of each bearing and that the bearing work must be completed to maintain public safety and the use of the Oceanic Bridge.
‘It is prudent to lift the bridge spans and perform the repairs to all four of the bearings,’ said Ettore. ‘The bearings in need of immediate repair are on the eastern side of the bridge, but the County is also going to repair the bearings on the western side of the bridge.’
The 2,712-foot drawbridge crosses the Navesink River and serves beach, commercial and residential traffic, as well as pedestrian and bicycle travel. It is also a key route for coastal evacuations and emergency vehicles headed to hospitals or providing mutual aid. The bridge has been classified as structurally deficient.
Built in 1939, the Oceanic Bridge has deteriorated due to decades of exposure to saltwater and from accommodating heavier vehicles and traffic volumes than for which it was designed.
In 2012, Monmouth County completed extensive work to rehabilitate the bridge’s 100-foot, center bascule span, allowing motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to continue use of the bridge.
Monmouth County received notification from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) Board of Trustees in January that $600,000 in federal funding was available to perform a Concept Development Study for the replacement or rehabilitation of the Oceanic Bridge.
‘As the years have gone on, maintaining this bridge has become more costly and difficult,’ said Arnone, a NJTPA Board member. ‘This grant will allow us to look to the future and take steps toward building a better bridge, one that will stand up to the extreme coastal storms we’ll face and serve our modern travel needs.’
Monmouth County plans to replace the Oceanic Bridge in the next ten years.
Just when they thought the temporary fixes to the Oceanic Bridge were coming to an end, and traffic could proceed as usual, Monmouth County officials have announced that the bridge needs more major work and will be closed from May 26 to June 12.
The April structural steel and concrete deck repair work to the bridge that spans the Navesink from Rumson to Middletown revealed the need for more significant repair work critical to safe traverse.
Two of the bridge’s four main bearings are in imminent need of repair and the other two will be fixed as well, Monmouth County Engineer Joseph Ettore said in a release. The bearings are part of the mechanism that supports the bascule and flanking spans on the bridge approaches, he explained.
The $653,650 needed for the additional repair work on 100-foot bascule span of the 2,712-foot historic drawbridge was authorized by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders at its April 24 meeting.
The Board of Chosen Freeholders authorized $653,650 for the repairs to the 100-foot bascule span of the 2,712-foot historic drawbridge at its April 24 meeting.
“It is prudent to lift the bridge spans and perform the repairs to all four of the bearings,” said Ettore. “The bearings in need of immediate repair are on the eastern side of the bridge, but the county is also going to repair the bearings on the western side of the bridge.
“The nature of the work repair requires that the bridge load be relieved by lifting the bascule and approach spans off of the bearing. To accomplish this, the Oceanic Bridge must be closed to motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic.”
During the period of complete closure, the bridge will still be open for marine traffic, seasonal rules and scheduling will be in effect, the release said.
The hold-off of the total closure until after Memorial Day weekend was scheduled to accommodate the holiday traffic, officials said.
Working around the clock will make it possible to open the bridge to all traffic just a few weeks into the start of the summer season, they added.
Preparation for the bearing work will start immediately and continue weekdays through May 21.
That work may require full overnight closures of the bridge from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. from May 13 to 15 and May 18 through 21, the release said.
The bridge will be open to all traffic from May 22 through Memorial Day on May 25.
Detours will be posted. But, standard alternatives are: from Rumson to Middletown, motorists should travel east and north through Sea Bright and Highlands to Middletown; and, from the Navesink and Locust sections of Middletown, motorists are advised to travel east and south through Middletown, Highlands and Sea Bright to Rumson.
Built in 1939, the Oceanic Bridge has deteriorated due to decades of exposure to saltwater and from accommodating heavier vehicles and traffic volumes than for which it was designed, the release said.
In 2012, extensive rehabilitation work was done to the bascule span, or drawbridge portion, in the center.
It is slated for total replacement within the next 10 years. Area residents have rallied to maintain the original design of the drawbridge.
Monmouth County received notification from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) Board of Trustees in January that $600,000 in federal funding was available to perform a Concept Development Study for the replacement or rehabilitation of the Oceanic Bridge.
It’s a pictorial view from the underside of the Oceanic Bridge, which has been undergoing unforeseen structural repairs before the summer season starts.
“As the construction work has progressed, additional areas of critical structural steel and concrete deterioration were found,” Monmouth County Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering, said in a release about the progress of the repairs to the bridge.
The bridge, that spans the Navesink River from Rumson to Middletown, is in need of concrete and steel deck repairs that are slated to be finished on or about April 30.
“The limits of the additional deterioration were unknown when the project began and have become evident during the cleaning and preparation process for the repairs as originally planned,” Monmouth County Engineer Joseph Ettore said in the release. “The additional steel and concrete deck deterioration must be repaired immediately to maintain public safety and the use of the Oceanic Bridge.”
The bridge, being revamped by Howell-based George Harms Construction Company Inc., is closed overnight, from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., with intermittent daytime one-lane closures.
For more information on the bridge, check out the following stories:
https://rumsonfairhavenretrospect.com/?p=1544
https://rumsonfairhavenretrospect.com/?p=1764
https://rumsonfairhavenretrospect.com/?p=2577
https://rumsonfairhavenretrospect.com/?p=2580
— Photos and story/Elaine Van Develde
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