A day late and a repair short. Officials say the bridge that collapsed over the weekend in Monmouth County, forcing residents to boil water for days, was due to be repaired in the next few weeks.

The aging structure that collapsed over the Swimming River Reservoir severed three major pipelines, endangering the water supply of hundreds of thousands of residents.

“The bridge took a beating during Hurricane Irene” said Richard Barnes, a spokesman with New Jersey American Water. “Both of the inspections found there was no imminent threat or immediate danger” added Barnes. He said the bridge would have been fixed in the next month or so.

“We were getting material to rebuild that bridge in the near future, definitely before the next hurricane season” added Barnes. He said its too early to tell why exactly the bridge collapsed.

Water main break in Middletown
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“Our top priority right now is to restore service to residents still without water and to get this bridge fixed quickly.”

Company officials say the pipes coming from Alabama to replace the old ones could take longer to get here than originally anticipated.”We appreciate customers understanding and patience through all of this” added Barnes.

Meanwhile, the last of the boil water orders for Monmouth County was lifted Monday night. Restrictions are still in place for outdoor use and conservation for using water indoors.

 

 

 

BEFORE RESUMING NORMAL USE OF WATER, NEW JERSEY AMERICAN WATER SUGGESTS..

Run all cold water faucets in your home for one minute at one time at the highest flow rate that you can without causing splashing or flooding of drains.

To flush automatic ice makers, make three batches of ice and discard.

Run water softeners through a regeneration cycle. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines specified in the owner’s manual.

Run drinking water fountains for one minute at the highest flow rate possible.

 

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