Scotch Plains Gets $626K From Feds For Covered Bridge Restoration

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ - Scotch Plains has acquired over $626,000 in federal funding to restore the historic wooden bridge at Clover Lane, township officials said.

While Tempe Covered Footbridge has served as an option for area children to walk to school or for residents to visit Frazee House Park on Raritan Road since the 1960s, the bridge was closed to the public in 2019 after falling into disrepair, the town said in a news release.

It was only after former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-7th Dist.) visited the sinking bridge on Feb. 24, 2022 that a funding request was made while he was serving in Congress in 2022. The $626,010 federal dollars earmarked is slated to cover the entire cost of the renovation to the footbridge in the fiscal 2023 budget, township officials said.

“Scotch Plains is actively working to secure safer routes to schools and other public areas,” said Mayor Josh Losardo in a statement. “Because of the covered bridge’s steady deterioration over the years, school children, senior citizens and other residents living in the area lack a safe route to reach area schools and our historic Frazee House Park. We aggressively sought this federal funding to improve walkability, recreation and access to public services in that neighborhood.”

The majority of the federal funding will be used to construct and install a prefabricated bridge, Municipal Manager Al Mirabella said in a statement. The federal government has agreed to pay for all components of the project, such as demolition, a geotechnical investigation, site plan work, surveying, design and state permitting. Measures will also be taken to prevent erosion.

The project is expected to take a year to complete, officials said.

The footbridge was originally constructed in 1963 as school children on Donsen Lane who did not have easy access to school buses would have to cross over a stream to reach a bus stop on Terrill Road.

The bridge soon became a popular route for residents to reach the former Terry Lou Zoo, the current home to the nationally-designated Aunty Betty Frazee house, the Scotch Plains Community Garden walking trails and a COVID-19 Tree Memorial.