By Donald Wittkowski
The Townsends Inlet Bridge connecting Sea Isle City and Avalon reopened to traffic Friday, ending a major headache for seashore motorists who had to endure miles of detours during the aged span’s three-month shutdown for emergency structural repairs.
Sea Isle Mayor Leonard Desiderio broke into a celebratory dance after receiving final word from Cape May County Engineer Dale Foster that the bridge, a vital transportation link along the Ocean Drive coastal route, would reopen.
“It’s been a real pain in the neck. It’s been a hardship on both communities,” Desiderio said of the impact on Sea Isle and Avalon caused by the bridge closure. “But now that it’s back open, we’re happy. We would not have liked to have it closed, but public safety was our main concern.”
The bridge closure severed a crucial part of Ocean Drive, a scenic seashore route that is popular with summer tourists and connects the barrier islands of Cape May County. With the bridge being reopened, motorists will no longer have to detour miles out of their way to the Garden State Parkway or Route 9 to travel between Sea Isle and Avalon.
The travel disruptions had made it particularly hard for residents and tourists in Sea Isle and Avalon to enjoy the restaurants, nightclubs and shopping attractions offered by both towns.
“It provides a great relief for the people of Sea Isle and Avalon,” Foster said of having the bridge back in service. “It also provides interaction on both sides of the bridge that will help the businesses, particularly the bars and restaurants.”
The county-owned bridge was closed on April 3 after structural cracks and severe deterioration were found in the support piles during an underwater inspection. The most recent closing added to a series of shutdowns suffered by the nearly 80-year-old bridge over the years for repairs, upkeep and related road construction.
Repair work was done on a cluster of three support piles originally installed in 1962 to reinforce the bridge after a monster storm pummeled the Jersey Shore that year and caused the bottom of Townsends Inlet to drop. The piles are part of a pier on the bridge’s bay side near Avalon.
Foster said the repairs took longer than expected because of the challenges of working underwater and the difficulties posed by the swift currents sweeping through Townsends Inlet, a deep waterway that flows into the ocean.
Dennis Brown, resident engineer for Maser Consulting, the construction manager for the bridge project, explained that three new concrete-filled steel piles, each 150 feet long, were installed beneath the water line to strength the bridge. An old pile that suffered a big crack is no longer part of the bridge’s support system, he noted.
“This is a permanent, overall repair job for the bridge,” Brown said.
However, Desiderio and other officials have become increasingly frustrated by the series of repair-related closures over the years. The Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization has repeatedly complained that the bridge’s shutdown harmed businesses on both sides of the span.
Although there have been growing demands for the bridge to be replaced, there is no money available to pay for the estimated $75 million to $100 million cost to build a new one.
Even if funding could be obtained, county officials have estimated it would take seven to 10 years to complete the planning, permitting and construction of a new bridge, meaning there is no relief in sight.
Funding for the emergency repair work on the Townsends Inlet Bridge will come from money that had previously been approved for a series of upgrades on county-owned spans. The county bridge program included maintenance work on the Townsends Inlet Bridge that had been scheduled for the winter of 2017-2018.
The Townsends Inlet Bridge is part of a network of aging spans along the Ocean Drive operated by the Cape May County Bridge Commission. The other spans under the commission’s control are the Middle Thorofare Bridge, the Grassy Sound Bridge, the Corsons Inlet Bridge and the Ocean City-Longport Bridge.
Only the Ocean City-Longport Bridge is a modern span. The Townsends Inlet, Middle Thorofare and Grassy Sound bridges were built in the 1930s, while the Corsons Inlet Bridge is just a few years younger.
