file photo Boyd Loving
APRIL 4, 2015, 8:47 PM LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2015, 9:00 PM
BY RICHARD COWEN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — The state Department of Transportation says a pedestrian walkway over Route 17 is safe enough to allow cars to pass under it, following an emergency inspection on Saturday afternoon prompted by chunks of concrete falling onto the road.
DOT spokesman Steve Schapiro said there was “no immediate danger of collapse” at the walkway, which crosses Route 17 just south of Racetrack Road and connects to the Park and Ride on the southbound side of the highway. Schapiro said a DOT crew arrived and picked up the debris, and conducted a brief inspection to make sure it was safe. A more thorough inspection will be done on Monday, he said.
“They took a look and determined there was no immediate danger,” he said. “We’ll be sending a crew out on Monday to take a look at what needs to be done.”
Chunks of concrete fell onto the northbound side of Route 17 around 12:30 p.m., and drivers reported damage to two cars, police said. Ridgewood police and firefighters rushed to the scene and, using pike poles, pulled down a layer of loose concrete from the central pillar that supports the walkway. Two of the northbound lanes were closed to traffic for about 40 minutes, police said.
Ridgewood Fire Capt. Scott Schmidt said the concrete that peeled off was the outer layer of one of the pillars that support the walkway. Schmidt referred to it as a “skin coat” that likely was weakened by the combination of moisture and road salt. “Road salt and concrete don’t really go well together,” he said.
Unable to dispose of the debris, firefighters piled chunks of concrete onto the left shoulder of the road and summoned the DOT. “We responded, and it made it as safe as possible before re-opening the road,” Schmidt said.
