Save the Victory Trail & Jacobs Creek Bridge

I live near the Jacobs Creek Bridge, and am one of more than 1500 people who have signed petitions opposing the County’s plan to replace it with an unlimited weight bridge.

I never understood why Brian Hughes would want to defy the will of the people, by destroying an important landmark- the site where Washington crossed Jacobs Creek on his way to Trenton in 1776-, and also endangering children’s lives by encouraging trucks to pass by an elementary school one mile north of the bridge.

The County tried to suppress the report upon which its decision was based, on the absurd basis that its release might encourage terrorists to attack this tiny bridge over a rural creek. And now that I have finally gotten access to the report, (available at www.savethevictorytrail.com) it’s clear why-there is no valid reason given to replace the bridge.

The report cites traffic safety concerns, but the data belies this claim. Since 2004, there have been only five accidents, with no serious injuries, on the bridge, three of them caused by driver error. $5,000,000 is a pretty expensive bandaid for two minor accidents. And if tractor trailers had been involved, those accidents might’ve been much more serious. The County’s plan would actually make the area less safe.

The report also claims that fire trucks need the bridge, but google maps shows that there are faster alternative routes than the bridge from the Union Fire Station on Route 29 to almost every Hopewell location.

Jane Martin

Hopewell Township, New Jersey

The Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders voted unanimously Thursday (Dec. 10) night in favor of County Executive Brian Hughes’ recommendation to hire the Philadelphia, Pa.-based firm of John Milner Associates to do an archeological study of the Jacob’s Creek bridge area.

”This project has generated interest among residents near Jacob’s Creek Bridge, and we are hopeful that the archeological survey will provide answers to the questions posed by both Mercer County and the State Historic Preservation Office,” Mr. Hughes said this morning.

”As I’ve stated before, I have committed to moving forward with the second phase of the survey, regardless of the outcome of the first phase, which involves the study of maps and supporting documents.”

Under the resolution approved by the freeholders, the Milner firm can be paid up to $15,996 during a one-year period that begins Dec. 10 and ends Dec. 9, 2010. The resolution, however, also says the “funds for this purpose are contingent upon the inclusion in and the adoption of the 2010 Mercer County budget.”

Mr. Hughes said the Milner firm’s study will be in two phases. A written report on the completion of the first phase will be a public document. “As the consultant enters into Phase 2, any private property owner whose property might be of interest to the consultant would be notified if the consultant needs access,” he added. “No properties will be entered without permission.”

Built 125 years ago, the 3-ton limit, iron truss Jacob’s Creek bridge has been closed by the county. Officials cited safety concerns when closing the span, which crosses the creek on Bear Tavern Road in southwestern Hopewell Township. The county’s plan to replace the bridge with a structure with no weight limit and to reconfigure the intersection of Bear Tavern Road with Jacobs Creek Road has been met with opposition from many residents in that area of Hopewell Township.

Opponents say the plan does not take into sufficient account the historic importance of the bridge and surrounding area. Opponents also have said the county plan would make the area much less safe by drawing more traffic, including tractor-trailers.

For information about what the firm of John Milner Associates does, visit http://www.johnmilnerassociates.com/.

A blast of blinding winds, sleet and snow battled Gen. George Washington's troops as they plied the icy Delaware River on Dec. 25, 1776.

This year, an economic storm has been threatening the re-enactors who for years have faithfully brought that critical crossing to life.

The harrowing weather of 233 years ago did not halt the ragged soldiers' progress into New Jersey, and it appears a lack of funding will be overcome with volunteer efforts and contributions that will allow the re-enactment to take place once again at Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania.

But that historic event was only the prologue to the remarkable events that unfolded on the New Jersey side of the river. It's oft-recited history: the Continental Army's snowy march to Trenton, where the Americans surprised drowsy Hessian mercenaries, rousting and routing them. The city was startled awake by gunshots, then rattled by a week of warfare that all the experts believe revitalized the flagging quest for independence.

Reminders of that history are to be found all over the city; Trenton has an abundance of 18th century touchstones, some distinctly preserved and others woven into the city's fabric. Once a year, however, they take on the luster of their Colonial youth during Patriots' Week celebrations.

From Dec. 26 to Dec. 31, daily events and tours will focus on the anniversary of the Battle of Trenton. Embodied by re-enactors and vibrant with new perspectives, the history of that week will unfold and be retold in an array of activities in all corners of the city. Ongoing tours of the Old Barracks, the William Trenton House, First Presbyterian Church and other historic landmarks will be complemented by presentations of the sights, sounds and sentiments of the day.

The main event, re-enactments of the two-part Battle of Trenton, will take place Dec. 27. The first phase will take place at the iconic Battle Monument, while the second will begin later in the day on East State Street, then move toward Mill Hill Park. Bracketing the military maneuvers will be puppet shows, lectures, walking tours, horse and buggy rides and a chance to break bread with Ben Franklin. Visitors will be treated to the sounds of Colonial music, games of the time, and an opportunity to hear about the developments of the day not as dusty history but in the moment.

Organizers have put together an excellent website, patriotsweek.com, with a roundup of all the events, schedules, maps and other information. Residents and visitors alike may be surprised by something they did not know about Trenton and its crucial place in the history of the United States.

That's the beauty of Patriots' Week -- it's a celebration that continues to bring to light not only the big events but also the small details of a history that continues to shape our present.

The Mercer County freeholders last night approved a resolution awarding a contract to a firm to perform archeological survey in the immediate area surrounding the Jacobs Creek Bridge in Hopewell Township.

In a 6-0 vote, with Free holder Keith Hamilton absent, the county legislative body approved a contract with John Milner Associates, a Philadelphia-based firm specializing in historic architecture and preservation planning, for an amount not to exceed $15,996.

The consultant "will review all relevant historical information about the area, including any information found in books, government records, roadway delineations known as 'road returns,' old maps, and. other sources the firm might feel are significant, during phase lA of the project," county spokesman Pete Daly said in an e-mail message.

In Phase lB, the physical area will likely be investigated. "In other words, this is the phase when we will put a 'shovel in the ground,''' Daly said.

The entire area will not be investigated, but rather "test pits" will be dug in areas identified as potentially significant after Phase lA, Daly said. Phase lA will start immediately and take 30 days to complete, Daly said. Archaeological surveys are required under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Fresh Water Stream Encroachment permitting process, according to a county Web site: The county ordered the Jacobs Creek Bridge closed in September citing safety concerns.

Daly said the county continues to work very closely with the State Historic Preservation Office, a division of the DEP, throughout this process. The iron truss bridge over Jacob's Creek is on the state register of historic places, Greg Sandusky, the county engineer, has said.   

Plans call for the realignment of Bear Tavern Road (County Route 579), a new bridge and relocation of the existing 125 year old bridge to be used as a pedestrian bridge. County officials have said rehabilitating the bridge would cost too much and would only make it viable for a few years.  

Several residents have said they are opposed to relocating the existing bridge and disturbing the area around the creek.

"In my mind, there's no doubt that's the area where (President George) Washington and his Army crossed Jacob's Creek on the march toward Trenton on Christmas day 1776,"said John Hansbury, a Bear Tavern Road resident and a former chairman of the Mercer County Republican Committee, said yesterday.   

Hansbury and other residents have argued that realigning the roadway and building a new bridge would destroy the site many see as historic. 

'We want to work with the archeological group. In our mind, there's no doubt that road as it is today is how it was in 1776," said Hansbury, adding that he thinks the bridge can be rehabilitated.  

A call to John Milner Associates was not returned yesterday, but Daly said the firm reached out to the county resident interviews and inspections of private properties and privately held docs are not typically a part of the first phase of the project, but could be part of the second phase.

By Diccon Hyatt

The Delaware River wasn’t the only body of water George Washington and his men crossed on that cold December night in 1776, when the American army marched to Trenton and its first victory in the Revolutionary War. On their long march through the night, they had to travel down what is now Bear Tavern Road and drag their heavy cannons across Jacob’s Creek, a large unbridged stream that had cut a steep ravine in the landscape, at the time swollen with storm water.

As David Hacker Fisher described in his book Washington’s Crossing, the American soldiers used long ropes, with trees as mooring posts, to steadily lower the guns to the bottom of the ravine. Then, they had to haul them back up on the other side.

Getting horses over the stream wasn’t easy either, and by the account of one officer, Washington almost fell off his mount.

Roni Browne Katz, a landscape artist, owns the home that sits on the bluff overlooking what is believed to be the site of the crossing. She moved there two years ago, captivated by the beauty of the landscape, but soon became enamored of the history as well.

“After getting involved and researching the history, it left me in awe,” Browne Katz said. “I can basically look out of my bedroom window and see the place where the troops came across here and came down the slope. It just gave me the chills. And there was a day that my Gordon setter got loose and I had to chase her down to the creek and I slid halfway down on my butt. I kept thinking, ‘My God, how did they do this with cannons and artillery and horses?’ It’s astounding, and it makes it much more special for me knowing that. The landscape is absolutely unsurpassed as an example of how our country was. But knowing the history just makes it uncomparable.”

Browne Katz is a member of the Save the Victory Trail Coalition, a group of citizens who are opposed to Mercer County plans to move the old Jacob’s Creek bridge, which now spans the place thought to be where Washington crossed the creek, to the Alliger Tract. The plans also include re-routing Bear Tavern Road over a new, larger, safer concrete bridge several dozen yards downstream.

The coalition opposes the project on safety and neighborhood quality grounds, but some of the members are most concerned with preserving the crossing site as intact as possible. They say the new concrete bridge would ruin the beauty of the landscape, and possibly disturb an important historical site.

The bridge is now marked as part of the “Victory Trail” that runs along Bear Tavern Road from Washington Crossing to the Battle Monument in Trenton. The current site of the bridge is already considerably more developed than it was when Washington saw it. To George Washington, the Jacob’s Creek Bridge, as it stands, would have been a godsend. The bridge was built more than 100 years later, with a prefabricated industrial steel truss design that was unknown in Washington’s time.

The coalition, which has a Web site at savethevictorytrail.webs.com, boasts several hundred members. Preservation New Jersey, the Hopewell Township Historic Preservation Commission and the Ewing Township Historical Society have all spoken out in favor of preserving the landscape.

Retired architect and coalition member Rollin LaFrance advocates restoring the historic bridge in place rather than moving it.
Hopewell resident and coalition member Don Timbie said the victory trail should be better marked and preserved than it currently is. He noted that the path that General Henry Knox used to take the cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston and then New York City is clearly marked. Knox used those same cannons as part of Washington’s army in the battle of Trenton.

“It should be just as well marked” he said.

Before the county closed the bridge to vehicle traffic in September, the site was difficult to view on foot. With no shoulder and no nearby parking, the Jacob’s Creek Bridge, like much of the rest of the Victory Trail, was best appreciated from a car.

(Walking along Bear Tavern Road is not recommended.) Now, curious onlookers can just park next to the Jersey barriers that block off the bridge and marvel at how anyone could ride a horse down the stream’s precarious banks.

Victory Trail Coalition member and Hopewell Township resident Sara Cooper said neighborhood children like to go fishing there, and bike riders often stop to appreciate the crossing site. Cooper said the bridge was also used in the 1980s, when the annual Washington’s Crossing re-enactment continued all the way down Bear Tavern Road to Trenton.

Cooper said the coalition formed in the spring, and really became outspoken in August. She said residents only have one chance to save the site before it’s ruined forever.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone,” she said. “So, let’s do all the due diligence now instead of just saying we’ll do something new.”

I’ve read with interest the “debate” about Jacobs Creek Bridge as it has been reported and commented on in the Hopewell Valley News. Tragically, this issue has taken on the characteristics of our political and public life as a state and nation today. This is what I mean:

   1. The plans for replacement of the bridge evidently failed from the beginning to really understand how critical this piece of historic landscape is. How typically New Jersey! Here we have an atmospheric, beautiful, and key location on the truly epic Victory Trail within the unique Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area. This historic spot deserves a comprehensive historic landscape preservation and enhancement plan prepared at state level, with assistance from the National Park Service. Instead, we are likely to get an engineer’s solution that will leave this area looking like much of the rest of the state: safe for traffic but without charm or character.

   2. We find it hard to trust each other any more. The ill-natured exchanges at the recent township meeting show that years of absurd partisanship, scandal, dishonesty and plain lying at all levels of government now leave us suspicious of everyone’s motives. This is a wretched situation for honest and hard-working elected representatives to be in, but it is understandable. How often do we see decisions made that benefit powerful lobbies at the expense of ordinary people? Is it any wonder that in this case there is a suspicion that the tax dollars of an adjacent corporation, and other development pressures, have played an undue role in the decision-making process? Is it any wonder that some have clambered onto this bandwagon and polarized the issue beyond reason and civility?

The core issue for me is that this beautiful piece of landscape, witness to an earthshaking event 233 years ago this December, is likely to be wrecked by our long-term failure to plan for the preservation of our history, and by our increasing inability to work together.

Ian Burrow

Hopewell Township, New Jersey

The Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders could vote soon, possibly at its Dec. 10 meeting, on County Executive Brian Hughes’ recommendation of a Philadelphia firm to do an archaeological study of the Jacobs Creek bridge area.

Mr. Hughes has recommended the firm of John Milner Associates to do the study. The freeholder board must vote on his recommendation to make the hiring official.

Freeholder meetings are open to the public and are held at the McDade Administration Building, 640 S. Broad St., Trenton. The agenda of the Dec. 10 meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m., will be set by the afternoon of that day at the latest. It may be set by Dec. 9, an official said.

The agenda will be posed on the county’s Web site, http://www.mercercounty.org/. Those interested also can call the office of the clerk to the freeholder board at 989-6584.

For information about what the firm of John Milner Associates does, visit: http://www.johnmilnerassociates.com/.

Built 125 years ago, the 3-ton limit, iron truss Jacobs Creek bridge was closed by the county last month. The county cited safety concerns in closing the span, which crosses the creek on Bear Tavern Road in southwestern Hopewell Township.

The county’s plan to replace the bridge with a structure with no weight limit and to reconfigure the intersection of Bear Tavern Road with Jacobs Creek Road has been met with intense opposition.

Many opponents of the plan say it does not take into sufficient account the historic importance of the bridge and surrounding area.

A handful of residents expressed their concern about the possible relocation of a bridge and. disturbing a site some deem historic, at a county freeholder meeting last week.

The residents thought a resolution to contract with a firm to perform an archeological survey in the immediate area surrounding the Jacobs Creek Bridge would come before the board at last Tuesday's meeting.

County officials, however, said a resolution contracting with John Milner Associates, a Philadelphia-based firm specializing in historic architecture and preservation planning, is expected to come before the freeholder board in December.

County Executive Brian M. Hughes said officials didn't want to have the resolution on the agenda at a meeting right before Thanksgiving.

'We didn't want to expose ourselves to criticism of not being transparent enough," he said. According to a county Web site, the county is determined "to make sure the project is done correctly and with minimal impact to the area or the original, historic bridge itself."

Archaeological surveys are required under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Fresh Water Stream Encroachment permitting process, according to a county Web site.

According to the county, archeological surveys will allow for the area "to be professionally surveyed, and eventually protected and interpreted as a Revolutionary War resource."

Hughes has met with county Department of Transportation and Infrastructure staff, Hopewell Township Mayor Vanessa Sandom, representatives of the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton and representatives of the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association to discuss the importance of historical preservation around Jacobs Creek Bridge.

Plans call for the re-alignment of Bear Tavern Road (County Route 579), a new bridge and relocation of the existing bridge to be used as a pedestrian bridge.

County officials have said rehabilitating the bridge would cost too much and would only make it viable for a few years.

The county ordered Jacobs Creek Bridge closed in September citing safety concerns. The existing structure received a sufficiency rating of 6.5 out of 100 by the New Jersey Department of Transportation's bridge inspection consultant, making it the lowest rated bridge in Mercer County, according to Hughes and a county Website.

The structure is not safe for vehicles, especially those weighing more than three tons, such as emergency vehicles, fire trucks and school buses, according to the county Website.

"The issue for the county has been and always will be the safety and security of kids (at Bear Tavern School) ,the workers at Janssen (Pharmaceutica) and our ability to get emergency vehicles like fire and police and emergency services over that bridge. Right now we just can't do it," said County Executive Brian M. Hughes, adding, "It's the only logical reason we have to put a new bridge in."

Hopewell Township and county officials have debated for decades about how to make the bridge stronger while protecting its historic value. The iron truss bridge over Jacob's Creek is on the state register of historic places, Greg Sandusky, the county engineer, has said.

Earlier this month, the county released an engineering report which details the structural deficiencies of the bridge and explores numerous options to address them. Mercer County has used that report to justify replacing the historic span with a modern structure capable of handling heavy trucks.

But several residents have said they are opposed to relocating the existing and disturbing the area around the creek.

John Hansbury, a Bear Tavern Road resident and a former chairman of the Mercer County Republican Committee, has said a coalition of about 1,500 have signed petitions against building a new bridge and realigning the roadway because of concerns the rural road will be used as a shortcut and bring trucks to the bridge.

He has said the county is more interested in accommodating traffic for Janssen than in how residents and schoolchildren will be affected by the increased traffic they fear the new bridge will bring.

Hansbury also said the site below the 125-year-old bridge is historic because George Washington and his troops had marched to Trenton crossing the creek and lowering 18 cannons in that area.

"The archeological survey will prove what we already know: that's where (Washington) crossed Jacobs Creek with his army," Hansbury said

At a meeting Tuesday of the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders, County Executive Brian Hughes is expected to propose a specific firm to do an archaeological study of the Jacobs Creek bridge area, according to Julie Willmot, spokeswoman for the county executive.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in Room 211, McDade Administration Building, 640 S. Broad St., Trenton, an official said Monday.

The Jacobs Creek bridge — now a touchstone of fiery controversy — has been closed for several weeks now, and motorists in southwestern Hopewell Township have had to adjust their itineraries accordingly.

The 125-year-old structure is on Bear Tavern Road (county Route 579), just north of its intersection with Jacobs Creek Road, which also is a county road.

 Located just north of the bridge is Janssen Pharmaceutica’s office-research campus, which has about 1,000 employees. About a mile and a half north of the bridge is Bear Tavern Elementary School, one of four elementary schools in the Hopewell Valley Regional School District.

County officials said last week that the essentials of the plan to replace the bridge remain unchanged.

That is, the span is to be replaced by a bridge with no weight limit, and the intersection of Bear Tavern and Jacobs Creek roads is to be reconfigured. The iron-truss structure the county closed, citing safety concerns, had a 3-ton weight limit when it was shut down. Officials have said the weight limit was violated on a regular basis.

When the county closed the bridge, officials said the span had deteriorated to a point it was in danger of collapse if its weight limit continued to be violated. Round-the-clock police presence to enforce the limit was not an option, officials said. They said that presence would cost about $200,000 per year.

"There is no set date for construction of the Jacobs Creek bridge project,” Ms. Willmot said last week.

"An archeological survey will be performed in advance of any work on the bridge project,” she noted, adding the county has “been working in close consultation with the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office to order to select the best-qualified firm to conduct the archeological survey of the immediate area surrounding the existing bridge.”

Ms. Willmot said Mr. Hughes is expected to propose a specific firm to do the archaeological study at the Nov. 24 meeting of the freeholders. If they approve the nomination, “the firm will be expected to complete the archaeological survey in 30 days.”

Recently, Bear Tavern Road resident John Hansbury, a vocal opponent of the county’s bridge plan, prevailed in his effort to get a copy of an engineering report on the bridge project. The report was done by the Princeton firm of Keller Kirkpatrick. The county has said it had withheld the report for security reasons due to regulations in the Homeland Security Act.

Once he obtained the report, Mr. Hansbury criticized its contents in a letter to the editor in the Nov. 12 edition of the HVN.

"Unfortunately, the report did not consider the negative impact” the bridge project “will have on Bear Tavern Road Elementary School that is in close proximity or the safety and well-being of our children,” Mr. Hansbury said. “In addition, the report failed to consider the historical significance of the Jacobs Creek site and, obviously, did not the examine the Hopewell Township Master Plan that specifically points out the significance of preserving the site where George Washington and the Continental Army made a very difficult crossing during their march to Trenton in 1776.”

Ms. Willmot replied, “Regarding Mr. Hansbury’s comments, when the bridge analysis was commissioned, the firm was charged with the task of evaluating the bridge, which itself was considered an historic element. It was not commissioned to study the region. We are hopeful that the upcoming archeological survey will help bring this matter to conclusion, and County Executive Hughes had requested the required survey be completed sooner in the process than is usual in order to answer the questions and concerns of the nearby residents.”

Also in his letter, Mr. Hansbury said, “It is clearly evident why Mercer County wanted the report suppressed. In the statement of project need, it (the report) singles out the future expansion plans of Janssen Pharmaceutica as the primary motive for a new unrestricted bridge and realignment of Bear Tavern Road. The analysis points out that Janssen’s future expansion plans will substantially contribute to the estimated 13,000 vehicles per day eventually using Jacobs Creek bridge and Bear Tavern Road.”

In response to that, Ms. Willmot said, “The report takes into consideration Janssen traffic because at this time they are not at full ‘build out.’ Hopewell Township provided Mercer County (and Keller Kirkpatrick) with future projections for Janssen based on Hopewell Township’s existing zoning laws. It’s been erroneously reported by local residents that Mercer County provided the projected number of trips. Again, this information was taken from Hopewell’s zoning laws in place. The school, however, is not subject to the same growth, and its traffic impact was not provided to the county.”

Ms. Willmot said Mercer County has posted FAQs (frequently asked questions) about the county’s Department of Transportation Web page that “hopefully, will answer citizens’ questions.”

Also posted on that site, she said, is a letter from the state Historic Preservation Office, which outlines what questions the county should be able to answer following the archaeological survey.

"As additional questions are posed to the county, we update the FAQ accordingly,” she added.

As a 44 year resident of Hopewell Township I feel obliged to respond to former Hopewell Township Committee Member David Sandahl’s letter to editor in the Nov. 5^th. HVN. Mr. Sandahl criticized my attempt to force the release of the Historic Bridge Alternatives Analysis of Jacobs Creek Bridge. As Mr. Sandahl knows, Mercer County refused to release this public document after spending over $90,000 in taxpayer dollars for its creation. Subsequently, the NJ Attorney General agreed that my OPRA (Open Public Records Act) request should have been granted and ordered its release to the public. 

If Mr. Sandahl can point to anything in the analysis that threatens our national security and/or public safety of our residents, I urge him to contact the NJ Attorney General. The entire report can now be viewed at: www.savethevictorytrail.com/

It is clearly evident why Mercer County wanted the report suppressed. In the ‘Statement of Project Need’ it singles out the future expansion plans of Janssen Pharmaceutica as the primary motive for a new unrestricted bridge and realignment of Bear Tavern Road. The analysis points out that Janssen’s future expansion plans will substantially contribute to the estimated 13,000 vehicles per day eventually using Jacobs Creek Bridge and Bear Tavern Road. Unfortunately, the report did not consider the negative impact this $6 million project, will have on Bear Tavern Road Elementary School that is in close proximity; or the safety and well being of our children.

In addition, the report failed to consider the historical significance of the Jacobs Creek site and obviously did not the examine the Hopewell Township Master Plan that specifically points out the significance of preserving the site where George Washington and the Continental Army made a very difficult crossing during their march to Trenton in 1776.

Consequently, the report is incomplete and the Mercer County Freeholders should require their consultants to do it over at no cost to the taxpayers. This time the Freeholders should require the consultants to seek input from the public and to research additional rehabilitation alternatives of the current historic bridge. (This is the only way to preserve the historic site and protect the children and neighborhood from the trucks and massive traffic increase)

Mr. Sandahl’s claim that the Jacobs Creek Bridge project is a “manufactured” issue, illustrates just how “out of touch” he is with Hopewell Township residents since he resigned from the township committee seven short months ago.  Mr. Sandahl should be aware that well over 1,000 residents have signed the hard copy petition or on-line petition opposing Mercer County's plan to destroy Jacobs Creek Bridge and the Victory Trail. The online petition can be viewed at:  http://www.petitiononline.com/VictoryT/petition.html

John Hansbury

Titusville, New Jersey

On Oct. 30 I was heading home after a meeting. Because the bridge is closed I now go past Bear Tavern Elementary School. It was Halloween Parade day and both sides of the road were lined with cars~ from Route 546 down to the Kerr Farm. I must have driven by as the parade was ending and the road was filled with moms and dads walking back to their cars, accompanied by younger siblings who had gone to see the parade. There was barely enough room for cars on the road to get by safely. The thought of 18-wheelers zipping by with all those children and parents on the road is frightening. To a large degree it explains the passion with which many of those in the Coalition to Save the Victory Trail and Jacobs Creek Bridge have fought to preserve our history and maintain our safety. I was only sorry I didn't have a camera. It would have made a great picture to add to: http://www.savethevictorytrail.com/.

Robin Fogel,

Titusville, New Jersey

Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes called me last week.  We discussed the County's plan to tear down Jacobs Creek Bridge which has served its neighbors since 1884.  The County proposes a $5,000,000 structure.  Over 1,000 residents have signed on in opposition to the County's plan. 

Mr. Hughes stressed the ability to get "safety vehicles" across the bridge to serve the local residents. However, it is these same residents who are most vehemently opposed to the County's plan.  Does Mr. Hughes actually believe that from 1884-2009 these same residents have been at risk?

Emphatically, the citizens reject that notion.  They will, in fact, feel far less safe with the County's proposed structure that will allow large tractor trailers to rumble down Bear Tavern Road (Ewing and Hopewell Townships) and past the elementary school a mile down the road.

The County did a survey on the current bridge.  It concluded that since local law enforcement has not enforced the weight limit on the bridge, damage has been done to it.  So, the County Executive rather than enforcing the law, is proposing to build the new structure so those illegally crossing it now will benefit.

In other words, rather than enforcing the laws he was sworn to uphold, Mr. Hughes is going to spend $5,000,000 of our tax dollars to benefit the illegal trucks crossing a bridge that residents have loved for 125 years.

The County recently barricaded the bridge (so much for any “safety vehicles” getting across to help the local tax payers).  So, too, has Mr. Hughes barricaded his ears from the electorate’s objections to the County’s plan. 

I stressed the need of elected officials to “listen to the will of the people”. When challenged on  wide spread public opposition to his plan, Mr. Hughes replied, “We just disagree”.

Yes, we the people, disagree with you, Brian.

Michael J. Delehanty

Titusville, New Jersey

To view this item, follow the link below:

http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1257230715188000.xml&coll=5

Once again The College of New Jersey and Ewing Township have outdone themselves in producing a fabulous Community Fest.  As a participant, it was evident that a tremendous amount of effort and dedication was involved.  It was wonderful to see so many folks participating and enjoying themselves. The enthusiasm of TCNJ students helping with the event was contagious.  Ultimately, even the weather cooperated.  On behalf of The Save the Victory Trail and Jacobs Creek Bridge Coalition, thanks to all for your hard work!

Community Fest was an excellent venue for meeting with area residents and discussing the historical importance of Washington’s Victory Trail and our preservation efforts.  Disbelief is the best word to describe the reaction to Mercer County’s plan to realign the scenic roadway and construct a new highway-like span at the site where General Washington’s troops forded Jacobs Creek on their march to Trenton in 1776.  Outrage is the best word to describe the reaction to the cost of the County’s plan versus the relatively small cost to rehabilitate the existing bridge.

The number of folks who visited our booth was awe inspiring.  In particular, children’s eyes lit up as their parents explained the significance of this historic area in the Revolutionary War, and in their very own back yard!  We gathered over 200 new signatures for our petition opposing Mercer County’s plan.  Even the Trenton Thunder Mascot signed in support.

If our suggestion to rehabilitate the bridge in its current site is accepted, the historic gem , Washington’s Victory Trail, can be preserved for generations to come.  The very children who today were so excited to learn about General Washington crossing Jacobs Creek will be able to share that same excitement with their children when the story is passed to the next generation.

Many thanks for such an impressive outpouring of support from the Community.  Interested readers can visit our website www.savethevictorytrail.com and sign an online petition to support this historic preservation.  Given the national historical significance of this issue, we ask for support from those near and far.

Sara E.K. Cooper

Titusiville, New Jersey

In a victory for a Hopewell Township resident who has opposed Mercer County's plans to remove the 125-year-old Jacobs Creek Bridge, the state attorney general's office has ordered the Department of Environmental Protection to turn over an engineering study of the bridge.

The report was withheld on the grounds that it would violate policy created after Sept. 11, 2001, to protect national security. Mercer County had denied an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request by John Hansbury, a long-time resident of Bear Tavern Road, for a copy of the Historic Bridge Alternatives Analysis report that was prepared by the engineering firm Keller and Kirkpatrick for the county.

The county, which owns the bridge, plans to spend $5 million to move the old bridge to a park, realign Bear Tavern Road and build a new bridge over the creek. The county closed the bridge last month, citing safety concerns.

Many residents of the area oppose the plan because they believe a stronger bridge will allow increased traffic, including trucks, as Bear Tavern Road could then be used as a shortcut to beat traffic on Routes 29 and 31.

After he was rebuffed by the county, Hansbury filed an OPRA request with the DEP for the report. He was told by DEP officials that the attorney general's office asked that agency to delay handing over the study until it could review the request.

In a letter to Mercer County Deputy Counsel Sarah Crowley, Deputy Attorney General Christine Piatek said she is ordering the report released to Hansbury in five days.

In response Crowley fired off a letter to Piatek yesterday asking her to explain her actions and telling her that the county denied Hansbury's original request due to an executive order and state rules regarding infrastructure.

"I am assuming by your decision to ultimately turn over this document means that your office determined that the executive order and or the rules promulgated pursuant thereto do not apply," Crowley wrote. "It is obviously critical for us to understand whether the Attorney for the State of New Jersey is advising that this order is not applicable and the reason for its inapplicability. We would appreciate knowing what your decision is predicated upon as your letter is completely silent on this issue that you have obviously been struggling with for over a month."

Crowley previously said the county was required to keep the report confidential due to "national and local security reasons."

Hansbury believes that politics played a role in the county's refusal to release the report, rather than strict adherence to state rules as Crowley asserts. He noted that similar structural information concerning the much larger Goethals Bridge that connects New Jersey to New York is available on the internet while the Jacobs Creek Bridge, by comparison, is a tiny span over a small, rural creek.

"I was pleasantly surprised to see the response from the attorney general," Hansbury said. He hopes to pick up the report on Friday.

"The attorney general's decision confirms the absurdity of the report being suppressed in the first place," said Dan Martin, a lawyer for Hansbury, who also lives near the bridge. "Why was the county going to such lengths in the first place? The obvious thing is, what does the county have to hide?"

"If Mercer County really believes there is something in that report that should be suppressed to protect the public they can go to court to ask for an injunction," Martin said. "If they don't go to court they admit the whole thing (denial) was bogus to begin with."

A resident seeking an engineering document about the old Jacobs Creek Bridge is baffled by officials' stonewalling and suggests that politics may be behind it.

The highway span that Mercer County Executive Hughes and Hopewell Township Mayor Sandom have in mind for Bear Tavern Road will have significant safety consequences to our area which are deeply troubling.

Dangerous conditions will be created on the Ewing Township side of Bear Tavern Rd. (steep, downhill curve) as well as on the Hopewell Township side (similar topography and an elementary school).  If the small bridge is replaced with the new span that they have promised to build for some $6,000,000, the roadway will be open to any size tractors and trailers .

We are being told that with the new structure, weight limits will finally be enforced to keep violators from using Bear Tavern Road.  Weight limits are not enforced now.  In fact, we have been told by the County Executive that is cost prohibitive to enforce these weight limits.

The only aspect of the roadway that stops the tractor trailers is the height restriction the current bridge imposes.  The bridge’s 12 foot cross bar limits some violators.  Without it, all bets are off. The County’s structure has no height or weight restriction – open invitation to interstate truck traffic.

Many elected officials are clinging to a flawed argument that the bridge is unsafe. Just one month ago, the County Engineer stated at a township meeting that the annual State inspection of Jacobs Creek Bridge concluded that the bridge is safe until the next scheduled inspection in 2010.  A County commissioned independent engineering firm concluded that enforcement of the bridge’s weight limit was the problem – not the bridge itself.

If our County Executive and Mayor truly care about safety, the bridge will be rehabbed in place. Please, hear the voices of so many: the very plan you are pushing so hard for will only lead to putting our residents and school children in harm’s way. 

www.savethevictorytrail has gathered support from over a thousand folks for its non partisan efforts.

I ask you, what is the point of this new structure?  Why all the fuss?  Scrap the plan that no one seems to want and move on and spend the money on more pressing issues.

 Sara E.K. Cooper

Titusville, New Jersey

The Save the Victory Trail and Jacobs Creek Bridge Coalition would like to thank the Hopewell Harvest Fair Committee for yet another wonderful fair.   The beautiful weather and entertaining music put a smile on everyone’s faces.

The number of people who visited our booth to learn about George Washington’s Victory Trail and our preservation efforts was truly inspiring. Our visitors included Rep. Rush Holt, D-Hopewell, and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Princeton, both of whom agreed that the preservation of history is extremely important.  We were also visited by several other elected officials and a host of residents from near and far.  In all, we collected more than 100 signatures on our petition opposing Mercer County’s plan to realign the roadway and construct a new high-way like span at the site where Gen. Washington and his men forded Jacobs Creek in their march to Trenton.

If our suggestion to rehabilitate the current bridge is accepted, this historic site, a site virtually untouched since Washington’s time, can be preserved for future generations,

Interested readers can visit our web site at http://www.savethevictorytrail.com/

Kim Robinson

Hopewell Township, New Jersey

The Hopewell Township Committee passed a resolution on Tuesday, Sept. 29 recommending that the county take into account the historic significance of the Jacob's Creek Bridge as it moves forward with plans for the bridge’s reconstruction.

The 125-year-old steel truss bridge, which crosses the creek on Bear Tavern Road (Route 579), was closed late last month for safety reasons. In March, the Township Committee endorsed the replacement of the county bridge.

When the Township Committee approved the replacement of the bridge, one of the conditions was that the county review plans with the township’s Historic Preservation Commission, explained Deputy Mayor John Murphy. Recently, the Historic Preservation Commission, which believes the bridge is of historic significance, reviewed plans with the county.

The approved resolution endorses the Historic Preservation Commission’s classification that the bridge is of historic significance and asks the county to take into account the historic nature of the area when planning and designing the bridge, Township Committee member Michael Markulec explained. The resolution also says the county should work with the Historic Preservation Commission as well as the Crossroads of the American Revolution as plans for the bridge reconstruction are created.

The current plan for the existing historic bridge is to move it to Alliger Park, on Washington Crossing-Pennington Road.

The reconstruction of the Jacob’s Creek Bridge has been a point of contention for many area residents. Many residents want to preserve the historic bridge and are concerned that the new bridge, with no weight limit, would invite truck traffic and speeding through the neighborhood.

However, the Township Committee took a step to remedy some of those concerns Tuesday night. They passed a resolution that upon completion of the reconstruction of the bridge would establish a four ton weight limit on the sections of Bear Tavern Road that abut the bridge. State law prohibits constructing a bridge that has a weigh limit. But, if the road leading to the bridge has a weight limit, it would deter large trucks from traveling through the area, explained Township Administrator/Engineer Paul Pogorzelski.

The issue of the bridge’s safety escalated last month. On Sept. 24, Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes notified the township that the Jacobs Creek Bridge be immediately closed to all traffic. This order was based on findings of an inspection performed by IH Engineers of Princeton. The engineering firm, contracted by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, recommended immediate closure of the bridge because the inspection revealed that vehicles weighing more than the three ton limit may not be able to safely cross the bridge.

Providing law enforcement around the clock to ensure that trucks in violation of the weight limit do not cross is not a reasonable solution because of the cost, Hughes said. The price tag of the enhanced law enforcement was calculated to cost between $200,000 and $300,000 a year.

The bridge will be closed indefinitely until further notification, according to the county.

To view this item, follow the link below:

More than 200 years after Washington's surprise attack on the Hessians turned the tide of the Revolutionary War, a group of local residents is hoping his march on Trenton will help them win a battle of their own.

In fighting a Mercer County plan to replace the historic Jacobs Creek Bridge, the group is arguing that the project will destroy an important segment of Washington's Victory Trail -- the path the revered general took while leading his ragtag army from the Delaware River to the Battle of Trenton in 1776.

The argument has already swayed the township Historic Preservation Commission, which had reluctantly endorsed the bridge replacement project last February.

The county has been waiting for the commission to endorse one of two replacement bridge designs. But after listening to residents' impassioned pleas to save the Victory Trail, the commission decided not to endorse either design.

Instead the members voted to pen a letter to the county saying an endorsement at this point would be premature and recommending that the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association be allowed to weigh in on the project.

Commission member Phil Robbins said the new information has convinced him that the county's plan to preserve the existing 1883 iron truss bridge by relocating it to a township park isn't enough.

"What is of far greater national interest is that this is the fording point across Jacobs Creek that General George Washington led a weary Continental Army, while en route to Trenton," Robbins said at a commission meeting this week.

"This site is part of a larger trail of march that winds through our county over the course of what historians refer to as the nine crucial days that shaped the course of history as American citizens know it today."

The commission said the county should consider how a more modern bridge, and the new road alignment that the project calls for, would impact the site itself.

"Given what we now know, the site itself may be even more important than the bridge and we have to do everything we can to protect it," said Pam Crabtree, a member of the commission.

Residents fighting the bridge project were happy their argument evoked a change of heart from the commission.

"We're encouraged by their decision to hold off on an endorsement and their suggestion to include the American Crossroads of the Revolution Association," said Mary Alicia Devine.

"We're extremely pleased that they have been mindful of the new information and are supportive of preserving the Victory Trail."

The Victory Trail argument is the latest in a long list of issues raised over the years as residents have fought to prevent the replacement of the old bridge.

Structural deficiencies have led the county to drop the weight limit on the bridge to 3 tons and neighbors have said the little rickety bridge has been a wonderful traffic calming device.

They complained that a replacement span strong enough to accommodate any vehicle on the road would encourage truck traffic on Bear Tavern Road.

They've also warned that students at the nearby Bear Tavern Elementary School will be endangered by the speeding motorists who no longer have to slow down to navigate the narrow confines of the current bridge.

The county has tried to address those concerns by suggesting lower weight and speed limits for roads leading to and from the bridge.

The county also proposed roadway islands in front of the school to further slow traffic. These measures would calm traffic while allowing the bridge to be replaced, the county reasoned.

Residents are banking on the Victory Trail argument to reach their ultimate goal -- derailing the project altogether.

As the movement gathers steam, Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes said he's willing to listen to any new information regarding the site's Revolutionary War history.

"If the state Historic Preservation Office were to give us further advice we would listen to it," Hughes said.

He said the current bridge replacement plan is not set in stone.

"We continue to be open to options," he said.

But Hughes made it clear that the county will not back down from its commitment to providing a bridge that will accommodate emergency vehicles now too heavy to cross the span.

"We are willing to work with the preservationists to come up with an option for a bridge that provides safety and security, not just for the motoring public, but for the schools, the homes and the local businesses," he said.

He said an earlier such plan -- to widen and shore up the existing bridge to accommodate 15-ton vehicles -- was rejected by the state Historic Preservation Office because it would have destroyed the historic integrity of the bridge.

That's why the decision was made to move the old bridge and build a new one, Hughes said.

Officials at the Historic Preservation Office said the historic value of the site itself was not considered when they signed off on the project.

Any new information would be considered, said Dan Saunders, acting administrator for the office.

Cate Litvak, executive director of the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, said her group is already investigating details of the site to present to the county and state.

"It's unfortunate that this issue has apparently not been addressed (in considering the bridge project)," Litvak said. "This historic piece of the puzzle wasn't considered earlier."

I am a young registered voter in Mercer County.  I want the county freeholders to know that I am opposed to the removal of the Historic Jacobs Creek Bridge in Hopewell Townshiip.  It will ruin an importantpart of our country's history.

I love to visit the Washington Crossing Park with my friends and family, to hike the trails, picnic and enjoy one of my favorite preserved areas.  Also, I would love to bring my kids here one day in the future.  Crossing the bridge, and knowing that Washington traveled the same route is cool.  I ask our freeholders to please think carefully about this matter.

Heather Chasen

East Windsor, New Jersey

David Hacket Fischer in his most recent book, "Washington's Crossing," devotes an entire chapter to Jacobs Creek. This area of the Hopewell Valley has played an important role in New Jersey history since the American Revolution. The Bear Tavern iron truss bridge, constructed in 1882 by the King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company, is a vital part of the history locally and of the New Jersey landscape.

The Hopewell Valley Historical Society strongly supports rehabilitating, in place, the existing Bear Tavern Bridge so as to bring it into compliance with the Secretary of Interior's standards for historic bridges. This bridge was determined in 1991 to be eligible for listing in the New Jersey and the National Registers of Historic Places. In May of 2001, the Bear Tavern Bridge was designated as a historic landmark by Hopewell Township.

 The Hopewell Valley Historical Society feels it is both necessary and worthy to preserve important elements of our past for the future. History dictates that the Bear Tavern Bridge over Jacobs Creek deserves special consideration.

 Susan L. Porcella, president, Hopewell Valley Historical Society