Current Status
The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) are moving forward with two contracts for the Green Brook Flood Control Project, both of which are located in Bound Brook:
- 1. R2 Levee System – Construction of the R2 Levee System has been completed as of late 2011. The R2 Levee System is designed to provide Bound Brook with protection from a 150-year flood level. However, the 150-year flood protection will only be achieved when the entire levee system is in place, including the two closure gates. The levee will be built to the height of the raised Talmage Avenue Bridge.
- 2. Closure Gates Along Raritan River – The full 150 year flood protection from the R2 Levee System will not be in place until two closure gates are completed that will prevent flood waters from entering Bound Brook. The gate closures will be across the New Jersey Transit railroad tracks on the western side of Bound Brook and at the South Main Street railroad underpass that leads to Queens Bridge. Work on the South Main Street railroad underpass closure gate is 99% completed, and is expected to be fully completed in January 2012. The New Jersey Transit railroad tracks closure gate is in the construction stage as of January 2012. It is 56% complete as of January 2012, with full completion expected by the end of the summer of 2012.
The new Talmadge Avenue Bridge that connects Bound Brook and Bridgewater, New Jersey is functionally complete as of April 2010. The replacement bridge was built to the height of the R2 Levee to prevent Middle Brook and Raritan River waters from entering Bound Brook from the west. An early test of the newly raised Talmadge Avenue Bridge occurred in early March 2010 when the downtown area of Bound Brook received flood waters from the South Main Street railroad underpass, but the western section of Bound Brook was spared from the flooding by the completed portions of the R2 Levee and the newly raised Talmadge Avenue Bridge.
To improve water flow through Bound Brook, the former Conrail bridge over the Raritan River and its associated railroad embankment that were located east of Bound Brook were removed during 2007. The bridge and embankment, when they were in place, acted to block the river flow through the Bound Brook area. To build the main Bound Brook R2 levee, the bridge and embankment needed to be removed.
By March 2011, the $120 million project was 90% completed and effective to prevent flooding during a major rainstorm. When Hurricane Irene passed along the East Coast in August 2011, flooding was not prevented but damage apparently mitigated by the not-yet-completed flood gate system.
Read more about this topic: Green Brook Flood Control Project
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