State Senator Joe Kyrillos at the opening of the new bridge in May, 2015. Freehold John Curley is at left. Below, a Google Satellite view of the bridge. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

For who knows how long, the West Front Front Street bridge connecting Red Bank and Middletown has been colloquially known as “Hubbard’s Bridge.” To Monmouth County, which owns the span and replaced it three years ago, it’s “S-17.”

As of Thursday, though, the 488-foot connector over the upper Navesink River has a new name: the “Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos Bridge.”

The renaming, in honor of the three-decade state legislator who retired in early 2017, was made by resolution passed unanimously by the Monmouth County Freeholders Thursday.

Freeholder Tom Arnone, who sponsored the change, said Kyrillos was “instrumental” in securing $7 million in supplemental funding needed to complete the $21.9 million rebuilding of the bridge in 2015. The brick-clad structure replaced a rattling steel “temporary” bridge that stood there for 11 years.

Kryillos, a Middletown resident, was elected to the Assembly in 1987, at the age of 27, and served two terms before being elected to the Senate for a term beginning in 1992. He represented the 13th district, which includes Middletown, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Rumson and Sea Bright.

Kyrillos was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 2012, but lost  to incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez.

A county spokeswoman said a dedication ceremony has not yet been scheduled. Here’s the resolution: Kyrillos Bridge resolution 061418J