The 550-ton rail bridge that toppled over on the Rancocas Creek in April will be righted during the second week of July, NJTransit said this week.

"The rail group (the consortium of contractors building the line) feels confident it can do the job by then," Charles Ingoglia, a spokesman for NJTransit said.

The rail group hired Rigging International, a California firm, in May to determine the cause of the accident and figure out a way to restore the bridge to an upright position.

At the moment, the bridge and the barge it is attached to are resting at a 45-degree angle against an abutment on the Riverside bank of the Rancocas Creek.

Ingoglia said a report on the cause of the accident is being drafted.

Uprighting the bridge is expected to be accomplished in a single day, Ingoglia said.

"Once they stabilize the structure and right it, they will put it into position" on the piers that are in place, ready to receive the 200-foot span, he said.

The contractors had nearly completed work on the bridge and were ready to float it into position when the barge suddenly listed and the bridge toppled over, sending five workers sprawling on to the pier or into the Rancocas Creek.

None was seriously injured, NJTransit says.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident.

The plan is to float the bridge into place during high tide and let it settle on to the piers as the tide recedes.