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BRIDGEWATER — A demolition project on the Raritan River aims to restore a 10-mile stretch of water near Duke Island Park to a state of purity that's been lost for nearly a century, state environmental officials say.

The state Department of Environmental Protection and energy company El Paso Corp. yesterday tore down the Robert Street Dam, which for decades had interrupted the river’s natural flow.

As part of a settlement last year between the Houston-based corporation and the state, the demolition work is part of a three-phase endeavor to rejuvenate the Raritan River.

The project also includes removing two other dams — the Calco Dam, just downriver, was demolished last summer and the Nevius Street Dam is on next year’s list.

The project is expected to unclog that section of the river for the first time since the early 1900s and create an environment that encourages the spawning of fish — such as the American shad, state officials said.

More than a million shad were counted in these waters during the 1800s, said David Bean, environmental specialist for the state. Now, there are only 77, he said.

"This will lead to better water quality," Bean said.

MWH Americas, the firm hired by El Paso Corp. to do the work, drilled through the steel, stone and concrete Robert Street Dam with an excavator yesterday, but it will take another few weeks to completely remove the 6½-foot-high dam, which straddles the Bridgewater-Hillsborough border.