Area November 30, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 19 Warren Avenue Bridge could be completed in January by Jennifer Crusco After conferring with an engineer from Bergen County, Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Administrator Don Cirulli advised the council that the Warren Avenue Bridge project is under way again and should be completed by the end of January 2012. The progress of this project has been closely followed by the borough’s administration, the public, and members of the Ho-Ho-Kus Chamber of Commerce. In October of 2010, area residents were advised that the bridge would be closed to motorists and pedestrians until the end of December 2010. Bergen County had planned to close the bridge in mid-October of last year so work crews could begin a complete refurbishment of the structure. Plans called for new reinforcements, resurfacing of the deck, new sidewalks, and a new light. However, complications, including an unanticipated structural issue that required additional attention, contributed to the long-standing delay in the completion of the project. While public officials and residents have commented on the inconvenient nature of the bridge closure, a recent medical emergency left many wanting prompt action. When Hurricane Irene hit the area on Aug. 28, two borough police officers were forced to risk their personal safety to save the life of a woman who was having a heart attack. By the morning of Aug. 28, the storm had turned Franklin Turnpike into a veritable river that cut off access from Ho-Ho-Kus to Ridgewood, where Valley Hospital is located. At 10:30 a.m., Sergeant Christopher Minchin and Detective Jaime Bodart received word that a man on North Maple Avenue near Brookside Avenue was gesturing to Police Chief John Wanamaker in an effort to indicate that a woman in a vehicle was having a heart attack. Due to the flooding, the North Maple Avenue Bridge was closed, leaving no easy access to the patient. Minchin and Bodart quickly assembled their medical equipment and drove to the Warren Avenue Bridge. The police officers attempted to kick open the chain link fence, which could not be breached. They then decided to make their way across the 18-inch catwalk on the side of the bridge. The officers located the woman, and administered oxygen to her. Ridgewood Police Officer Shane James was ultimately able to drive through the flood to the area where the woman was located, and James and Minchin took the woman to Valley Hospital. The woman fared well, but the incident highlighted the need for access via the Warren Avenue Bridge. Built in 1905, the bridge is a through truss bridge that allows vehicular and pedestrian traffic to cross over the HoHo-Kus Brook on Warren Avenue. Through truss bridges, so named because traffic – and in some instances, trains – are permitted to travel through the box created by the metal structure, are constructed with two side trusses that are connected across the top and bottom. The steel trusses are created from riveted metal plates and bars that form “truss members.” Those metal pieces are connected in a way that forms rectangular and triangular shaped sections with open spaces between them. This type of construction allows truss bridges to accommodate heavy vehicles without being bulky themselves. The Warren Avenue Bridge, which is eligible for listing on the National Register of History Places, was reportedly rehabilitated by Bergen County in 1921. Last year, New Jersey Transit representatives had also notified borough officials of their intent to complete track and roadway repairs where the railroad tracks cross Warren Avenue near the Ridgewood border. The start of that project has been postponed several times. Solemn ceremony The Glen Rock Jewish Center Nursery School held its 4th Annual Family Havdalah Celebration, recently. Havdalah, the ceremony which takes place at the end of the sabbath, is a short, beautiful ceremony and includes lighting special twisted candles, tasting sips of wine and smelling delicious aromatic spices. It marks the ending of Shabbat and the beginning of the secular week.