NJ School Construction Hits Milestone with Placement of Unique Pedestrian Bridge

STV, a leading construction management firm, is overseeing the construction of a brand new elementary school in Paterson, NJ, where a major milestone was recently reached when a unique pedestrian bridge was laid into place.

The 130-foot long bridge span crosses an active railway utilized by NJ TRANSIT and will connect to the future  Dr. Hani Awadallah School (formerly the Marshall Street Elementary School). STV was contracted by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (NJSDA) to provide construction management services for the $26.5 million, two-story, 105,000-square-foot building, which included the placement of the pedestrian bridge.

The school, which is anticipated to be opened by September 2016, is expected to house 650 elementary students, and is being built to help the NJSDA address overcrowding concerns in Paterson. The bridge placement was a critical component of the construction program as the structure will more efficiently connect the community to the future school building. It is believed to be the only bridge of its kind – linking pedestrians to a school over an active railroad right-of-way – in New Jersey.

“It took a tremendous amount of coordination between the NJSDA, NJ TRANSIT, the contractor and the community to make this milestone possible,” said John Brooks, STV project manager. “The bridge was placed in the middle of the night so as not to disrupt NJ TRANSIT’s commuter schedule and we needed to arrange for flagmen and take other safety precautions with the railroad before we could move forward with construction.”

Meanwhile, the construction took place with minimal disruption to the surrounding residential community.

“We didn’t receive any complaints from the neighbors,” Brooks added. “They went to bed one Saturday night and the next morning there was a bridge in place at the school next door.”

STV will continue to monitor and inspect the bridge over the remaining construction schedule to verify that the structure meets the safety requirements of the NJSDA and NJ TRANSIT. Additionally, the firm’s site-wide safety management plan for construction will also include NJ TRANSIT protocols, as well as those from state and city codes, emergency services, the school district, and other stakeholders.

Once completed, the school will include general and specialized education classrooms, science and computer rooms, art and music rooms, a media center, a cafeteria/auditorium, a gymnasium, and administrative and support facilities. The basement will include an equipment room, the mechanical room, and storage spaces.

For more information, contact:

Jill Bonamusa
(212) 614-3354
jill.bonamusa@stvinc.com

Mark Ginocchio
(212) 505-4916
mark.ginocchio@stvinc.com