'Ghost Bridge' Revealed By Low Water Levels At NJ Reservoir

Community Corner

'Ghost Bridge' Revealed By Low Water Levels At NJ Reservoir This bridge from the horse-and-buggy era is a rare sight, as it's normally submerged underwater. It dates back to the 1800s.

OAK RIDGE, NJ — A bridge to the past — quite literally — has appeared in a North Jersey reservoir after it was drained for routine maintenance.

The so-called "Ghost Bridge" became visible at Oak Ridge Reservoir in early November, and has attracted the attention of nearby residents. And despite the name, there isn't anything spooky about this stone bridge with three arches — it's just a rare sight.

Kevin Greer, the Newark Watershed superintendent, told the Associated Press that the bridge was built over 150 years ago for horses and buggies. Greer told the AP that water levels will be restored once maintenance work had finished on the dam and gatehouse, and the bridge will once again be covered.

"It has nothing to do with the drought ," he said.

The bridge, which has stood since the reservoir's construction, can be seen along Route 23 about a mile south of the Canistear Road intersection. However, it is part of the Newark Watershed, which requires a permit to hike on its lands.

Officials are encouraging people not to walk on or around the bridge, as it may not be structurally sound. Drivers are also asked not to stop or park along the highway to take pictures.

The bridge once connected the original town of Oak Ridge to the Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike over the Pequannock River, before reservoir construction was completed in the mid-1890s, according to a local history blog by Paul Havemann. Its exact age is unknown.

Oak Ridge Reservoir was one of several to be built in northern New Jersey at that time and required both Oak Ridge and a smaller village called Wallace Corner to be flooded, Havemann noted .

The 35,000 acres of natural waterways, mountains, ponds, and streams that make up the Newark Watershed are located in portions of six towns in Morris, Passaic and Sussex Counties. The watershed and its reservoirs are city-owned.

Echo Lake Reservoir, Clinton Reservoir, Canistear Reservoir, and Charoletteburg Reservoir are also part of the Newark Watershed. A spokesperson for the city said the reservoirs are at 80 percent capacity, and would be higher if Oak Ridge Reservoir was not drawn down.