Route 280 most western point begins at Interstate 80 and runs all the way through Newark and ends at the N.J. Turnpike aka I-95. The westernmost stretch of the highway is clean, smooth and well maintained. It is so smooth that the N.J.S.P. are out there daily doing radar patrol. It is not uncommon to see motorists zipping by at 80 miles per hour. The eastern stretch of 280 is just the opposite. It is a gritty throwback to the long lost days of Newark's once prosperous Ironbound section. I would like to focus on the viaduct that runs from the Sickle Bridge east just beyond Broad Avenue.The following pictures were all taken on January 23,2007.
Here is a view looking east toward the Sickle Bridge.
Here is a section of concrete that has been repaired many times. At first look it seems rather innocuous, but lets take a look underneath and see what awaits us shall we?
Yikes! Look how many times the underside of the bridge has been repaired. Planking is being used to keep the concrete from crashing through yet again. As scary as this looks, take a look at the picture below.....
This is an accumulated pile of concrete that has fallen through in this one spot over the years. This is one of the reasons I have always said bridges should not be made out of concrete, especially if salt water is nearby