Roads and utilities
Stirling Road bridge closure
Somerset County closed Stirling Road at County Bridge No. L1014 on August 3, 2026 for an estimated five months; Warren Township's July 30 notice anticipated reopening in mid-December. The road is closed to vehicles and pedestrians; driveway access is maintained.
Bridge closed
What happens next
Somerset County's Engineering Division publishes project updates on its Stirling Road project page; Township Committee meetings remain the local forum for detour and emergency-access questions.
Stirling Road is County Route 653. Its bridge over Stony Brook is County Bridge Number L1014. Somerset County awarded the replacement contract to Underground Utilities Corporation on March 24, 2026. The county held a pre-construction meeting on May 19. The county closed the road between Community Place and Dillon Court at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, August 3, 2026.
The county expects the work to last about five months. Warren Township’s July 30 notice anticipated reopening in mid-December 2026. Five months from the Aug. 3 closure extends into early January 2027; the sources give differing schedule descriptions. The bridge is closed to vehicles and pedestrians; driveway access is maintained.
Detours. General traffic uses Mountain Avenue (CR 622) and Hillcrest Road (CR 531). Trucks over four tons use Valley Road (CR 512), King George Road (CR 651), Mount Bethel Road (CR 651) and Mountain Boulevard (CR 527).
The existing bridge is a single-span slab with embedded structural steel stringers on concrete abutments. It has a 19-foot span with a 33-foot clear roadway width. The county rates it as poor overall because of deterioration in the parapet, deck, and superstructure. The substructure is rated satisfactory. The replacement will be a single-span precast rigid frame superstructure with concrete parapets on reinforced concrete abutments. The roadway width at the bridge will rise from 33 feet to 40 feet to meet New Jersey Department of Transportation standards. The project is funded by a FY2023 NJDOT Local Bridge Future Needs grant.
Warren’s record of the closure is a Township news item posted July 30, 2026, which gives the Aug. 3 start, the mid-December reopening and the detour routes. No Township Committee minutes in the review window mention the closure. The county page was last updated Aug. 3, 2026; LocalWhy has not reviewed a later notice or extension. As of Nov. 2, 2026, the reviewed records show no change to the reopening estimate. The county’s detour plan, location map and display boards are linked from its project page and were not downloaded.
Timeline
- Milestone County holds a virtual public meeting on the Stirling Road bridgeSomerset County held a virtual public information meeting on the proposed replacement of County Bridge No. L1014, with display boards on existing conditions, construction, detours and parcels.
- Resolved County awards the Stirling Road bridge contractSomerset County awarded the construction contract for County Bridge No. L1014 to Underground Utilities Corporation, with a pre-construction meeting held May 19, 2026.
- Active Township posts notice of the August 3 bridge closureWarren posted 'Stirling Road Bridge Closure Begins August 3,' stating that the county's contractor would close and detour the road that Monday, with reopening anticipated in mid-December 2026.
- Active Stirling Road closes at the bridge for replacementSomerset County closed Stirling Road between Community Place and Dillon Court at 3:30 p.m. to replace County Bridge No. L1014. The road is closed to vehicles and pedestrians, with driveway access maintained.
- Pending Township's mid-December bridge reopening estimateSomerset County estimates about five months of work after the August 3 closure; Warren Township's July 30 notice anticipated reopening in mid-December, earlier than a five-month count.