Beesley's Point Bridge
Encyclopedia
Toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...
from its opening. Prior to its closing, it was best known for carrying US 9 over the Great Egg Harbor Bay
Great Egg Harbor Bay
Great Egg Harbor Bay is a major bay located on the southern New Jersey coast, specifically in Atlantic and Cape May counties. The Great Egg Harbor River empties into the bay....
, connecting Upper Township
Upper Township, New Jersey
Upper Township is a large township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The township population was 12,115 as of the United States 2000 Census...
, in Cape May County
Cape May County, New Jersey
-Climate:Being the southernmost point in New Jersey, Cape May has fairly mild wintertime temperatures. Contrary to that, the summertime has lower temperatures than most places in the state, making the county a popular place to escape the heat. It is in zone 7a/7b, which is the same as parts of...
to Somers Point
Somers Point, New Jersey
Somers Point is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 10,795.The City of Somers Point is in the eastern part of Atlantic County, southwest of Atlantic City.-History:...
in Atlantic County
Atlantic County, New Jersey
-National protected areas:* Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge * Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River -Demographics:...
. Prior to 1955, the bridge concurrently carried the Garden State Parkway
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at New Jersey's southernmost tip. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State." Most New Jersey residents refer...
over the Great Egg Harbor Bay. When the Parkway completed its own bridge over the bay, each had its own alignment with the Garden State Parkway using the Great Egg Harbor Bridge.
Through the decades, the Beesley Point Bridge Company became unable to fund repairs on the aging bridge. In 1997, the bridge in conjunction with private outside investors, secured a $1 million loan from the New Jersey Department of Transportation
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation...
to fund the necessary improvements in exchange for a promise that they would continue to keep the bridge open until 2016.
In 2004, the owners of the bridge broke that promise realizing that the repairs would cost many times more than the original estimate. As a result, the Company agreed to close the bridge and it closed to traffic on June 18, 2004.
Design
The bridge carried two lanes of traffic for approximately 4,800 feet. The structure immediately north over the Drag Channel is a separate structure and is commonly referred to incorrectly as the same structure resulting in an erroneous 6,000 foot total length.The bridge contains 120 spans and has a 80 foot double leaf bascule span that opens for maritime traffic. The official NJDOT Historic Bridge Survey states that the substructure has been heavily reconstructed. The bascule span received modern controls and electrical systems during the rehabilitation. Access to the mechanical rooms were denied for the final bridge inspection, but topside inspection reveals that the bascule appears heavily altered and thus is not eligible for historic preservation.
Future
In 2006, Hurricane ErnestoHurricane Ernesto (2006)
Hurricane Ernesto was the costliest tropical cyclone of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. The sixth tropical storm and first hurricane of the season, Ernesto developed from a tropical wave on August 24 in the eastern Caribbean Sea...
made Cape May County officials nervous because they lacked the use of the bridge as an additional evacuation route. As a result, Cape May County purchased the bridge from the Beesley Point Bridge Company for $1 with the intent of rehabiliating it and opening it in 2012. Several studies have been commissioned for the feasibility of doing so, but Cape May County engineers can only conclude that significant rehabilitation would only produce an extended life of up to 15 years. Costs vary on the price of rehabilitation, but it appears that only a 15 year realization on the investment is not worth the cost.
However, the NJDOT planned to funding a project to rehabiliate the bridge to at least 2019 in their Statewide Transportation Program 2011-2019. Ironically, the funding is level for all 10 years and they both spell the bridge incorrectly and erroneously use the apostrophe in the document revealing the funding allocation.
Cape May County officials, including Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Jeff Van Drew, have gone on record that bridge rehabilitation would begin in the summer of 2010 and the bridge would reopen to traffic in 2012. On June 28, 2010 the Press of Atlantic City published an article revealing a previous crack in the existing deck had turned into a three foot chasm.
At the 7th Annual Cape May County Transportation Infrastructure Conference on Tuesday February 22, 2011, it was announced that the bridge would be demolished but discussions are still in the preliminary mode. The bridge may be turned into a fishing pier.