Morris County and the New Jersey Department of Transportation will present their preferred plan to replace the one-lane Openaki Road bridge in Denville at a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m.
The bridge carries Openaki Road over Den Brook beside Openaki Lake (also spelled Openaka) and dates to 1903. Under the preliminary preferred alternative, it would be replaced with a two-lane, single-span bridge 30 feet wide, matching the wider sections of road on either side. The plan also calls for rebuilding the neighboring dam and spillway.
The dam has been held in a temporary breach condition since 2023, after the New Jersey Bureau of Dam Safety rated it unsatisfactory, and the project flyer describes it as being in poor condition. The lake will stay lowered while engineers finish the replacement design.
The project is in preliminary engineering now. The flyer estimates final design in 2027 to 2028, with construction in 2029 or 2030.
Residents can register for the online session through the county’s meeting announcement. The session will be recorded, and the recording and slide presentation will be posted on the county’s Engineering and Transportation projects page from Nov. 18 through Dec. 9.
Written comments are due by Thursday, Jan. 7, 2027. Send them to Meghan M. Paccione, principal engineer with the Morris County Division of Engineering and Transportation, at mpaccione@co.morris.nj.us or P.O. Box 900, Morristown, NJ 07960-0900. Tenants who live near the project are also invited to weigh in.
Openaki Lake is one of several lake communities in town; our guide to Denville’s lakes and parks covers the rest. For other recent work on local roads, see our report on road milling on Kitchell and Ford roads.
Featured image: NJDOT public information center flyer, via Morris County.
Enjoying our Denville coverage?
Add us as a preferred source and our stories show up higher in your Google results.
Add as a preferred source
