HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — Mercer County officials yesterday opened the new Pennington-Harbourton bridge crossing Jacobs Creek.

The old bridge sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Irene in August and was closed to traffic.

The bridge is eight-tenths of a mile east of the intersection of Bear Tavern Road and Pennington-Harbourton Road.

The county Department of Transportation used in-house workers to complete the project in 52 days rather than the 90 days it was scheduled for, according to a county news release.

The bridge design and construction cost $178,000.

The project saved county taxpayers more than a half-million dollars because the design was undertaken by county engineers, according to the county.

Hurricane Irene damaged other bridges in northern Mercer County as well. In Princeton Township, Rosedale Road Bridge, which was washed out, had emergency repairs done by county crews and was reopened in two days. In Hopewell Township, six bridges sustained damage, and three of the six will be repaired by county crews.

County Executive Brian M. Hughes said the county expects to save more than $1 million by performing repairs in-house.

The new Pennington-Harbourton bridge supports two 12-foot wide travel lanes and two 2-foot-wide shoulders.

Parapets on both sides of the bridge are intended to provide safe passage for vehicles and cyclists.

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