Keyport, Union Beach connected by new bridge The approach to the new Stone Road bridge, seen here facing Front Street in Keyport, was reconfigured to make travel safer for motorists. KEYPORT - A new Stone Road bridge spanning Chingarora Creek and connecting Keyport to Union Beach opened Thursday after being closed for construction since October 2006. The bridge represents one of 16 in Monmouth County termed "structurally deficient" that have been replaced in the past four years, or nearly 25 percent of the county's structurally deficient bridges. Another 33 are considered "functionally obsolete." "It gives me great pleasure to be part of the bridge dedication, because the county did more than build a new bridge - our engineers also realigned the approach roads and added a walkway to make travel in this immediate area safer for motorists and pedestrians alike," Freeholder Robert Clifton said in a press release. The original configuration comprised a three-point intersection convergent at the westerly bridge approach, a steel grid deck on a slightly skewed alignment and single approach road to the east. The new bridge was built with a concrete pre-stressed deck on new concrete abutments. It is 36 feet wide between curbs, with a 5-foot-wide sidewalk along the north side of the bridge. Instead of the three-point intersection, there is now a T-intersection of Second Street with Stone Road. In addition, the intersection of Stone Road and Walnut Street was improved, and a vacated portion of Second Street is used in conjunction with other property obtained by the county to create a wetlands mitigation/enhancement area, compensating for wetland areas impacted by this project. The bridge and road improvements were built by Marbro Inc., of Montclair, at a cost of $3 million. The county is actively pursuing replacement of its older bridges, County Engineer Joseph Ettore said. The term structurally deficient does not mean the bridge is dangerous, Ettore said, but could mean that it no longer meets today's load standards. Functionally obsolete is another broad term that could mean that the lanes are not wide enough by modern-day standards. "All of our bridges are safe," Ettore said, noting that every one of the county's 980 bridges undergo a thorough inspection every two years.