River Styx Construction Ends Early

The $1 million construction on Hopatcong's River Styx Bridge finished more than a week early, a county official said.

Sussex County Division of Engineering Supervising Engineer Susan Delmar said poor weather didn't affect the project, unlike the almost $700,000 Lake Lackawanna Drive project, which is set to finish a week behind schedule. Delmar also credited the project's contractor, Merco Inc. of Lebanon, with strong planning.

"Most of the work from the summer to the fall was underwater work," Delmar said. "And I think the contractor was very well-organized and just implemented the plan in a methodical fashion."

Delmar said the state-aid funded project, which began March 11 and ended Nov. 18—12 days ahead of schedule, will extend the life of River Styx's base for 30 to 40 years. Delmar said restoring the bridge's H-piles was the most important phase of the rehabilitation project.

Here's a list of the tasks accomplished during the project, according to the county.

• Upper Pile Repair – repair steel H‐piles at splash zone
• Replace secondary substructure bracing
• Clean and apply protective coating to substructure members
• Lower Pile Repair – repair and re‐jacket steel H‐piles at mudline (underwater repair)
• Concrete Substructure Repairs and Protection