Emergency Closure of Bray Avenue Bridge in Port Monmouth

The bridge at Bray Avenue between East Keansburg and Port Monmouth is closed to vehicles until further notice.

County road crews were working on the bridge on Monday. Traffic between Main Street and Thompson Avenue is being detoured, and Bray Avenue is open to local traffic only.

Monmouth County had been in the process of preparing for the replacement of the 60-year old bridge.

“Recent inspections revealed a defect in the substructure of the timber bridge,” County Engineer Joseph Ettore said. “Preliminary inspections indicated that the additional damage to this structure was sustained when the bridge was overtopped by the tidal surge from Superstorm Sandy.”

Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone said the state of the bridge between East Keansburg and Port Monmouth was cause for concern. "The county is concerned about the safety and continued use of the bridge,” he said. 

When Pews Creek was overwhelmed by the storm's tidal surge, the neighboring homes here were badly swamped.  There are still large piles of debris in several front yards. A resident there said some of the homes on Bray Ave. are still without electricity and families are using a generator, and some houses are so badly damaged that owners have apparently abandoned them.