By Donald Wittkowski
In a repeat of last year, motorists wanting to cross over the Townsends Inlet Bridge linking Sea Isle City and Avalon will have to endure another lengthy closure and more roundabout detours to travel between both towns.
The nearly 80-year-old bridge shut down Monday for an eight-month renovation project to replace seven deteriorated spans on the Avalon side. The closure was first announced by the Cape May County Bridge Commission in July, but some motorists were still caught by surprise.
“Apparently, there’s a detour,” one driver in a black Chevrolet Camaro said with a sarcastic laugh Monday when he encountered the “Bridge Closed” sign and some barriers blocking the way.
The shutdown is expected to last until May 22, 2019. Barring any delays with the project, the bridge will reopen just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the bustling summer tourism season at the Jersey Shore.
The bridge’s reconstruction closes off a direct hop between Sea Isle and Avalon, forcing drivers to detour miles out of their way using the Garden State Parkway or Route 9 for trips between both towns.
“We just know that if we have to get to Avalon, we will have a long ride to get there,” Sea Isle Mayor Leonard Desiderio said. “It’s unfortunate, but this is something that needs to be done. We’ll just have to hope for the best.”
The Townsends Inlet Bridge was built in 1939 during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. Over the years, it has had a history of shutdowns for structural repairs, maintenance work and related road construction.
It was closed from April to late June in 2017 for emergency repairs after structural cracks were discovered in the bridge on the Avalon side during an underwater inspection.
Approximately 245 feet of the 1,373-foot long bridge is slated to be renovated as part of the $8.6 million overhaul that just started. Altogether, it has 27 spans. The replacement of the seven deteriorated spans is expected to wring more years of use out of the bridge until an entirely new one can be built.
“I’ve taken the ride over that bridge many, many times,” Desiderio said. “We’ve been waiting and waiting for many years for the money to replace it.”
Currently, there is no money to build the estimated $105 million to $175 million new bridge. The county hopes to obtain state and federal grants to help finance the project.
Desiderio, who is also a Cape May County freeholder, called on the state Legislature to contribute funding for a new bridge. He noted that New Jersey’s gasoline tax will increase by 4.3 cents per gallon on Oct. 1 to generate extra revenue for bridge, road and mass transit projects across the state. Just two years ago, a 23-cent-per-gallon hike in the gas tax was approved by the Legislature and then-Gov. Chris Christie to finance transportation projects.
“There needs to be money given by the state to the municipalities and counties to help them repair these old bridges,” Desiderio said.
Desiderio explained that even when the money is in place for a new Townsends Inlet Bridge, it may take up to 10 years for the county to secure the array of regulatory permits needed for construction.
“It’s not like you get the money today and you build it in 2020,” he said. “We’ve been told it’s up to a 10-year wait to get the permits.”
Meanwhile, road signs warning of the bridge’s closing are scattered across Sea Isle, including a big one that greets motorists entering town on the John F. Kennedy Boulevard gateway. Sea Isle has also announced the bridge shutdown on its municipal website and on the police department’s Facebook page.
Townsends Inlet Bridge is popular with pedestrians, bicyclists and fishermen, but they will not be allowed on the structure during construction. Boats will still be able to travel under the bridge, although they are advised to be careful of the construction barges in the inlet.
On the same day the bridge closed down, construction resumed for the fall on the Sea Isle Boulevard entryway, the main artery in and out of town.
The environmental permits for the boulevard project prohibit construction between March 15 and Aug. 15 during the nesting season for ospreys, which are classified by the state as a threatened species of bird. Construction is not allowed within 1,000 feet of the osprey nests during that time.
Sea Isle Boulevard, also called the “causeway,” is being raised 4.5 feet higher than the old low-lying road, giving motorists a safer evacuation route when severe storms hit the shore.
The first section of the boulevard’s elevation was completed last December. Now, construction crews have returned to raise the opposite side of the road by 4.5 feet, too. Completion of the remaining part of the project is scheduled by January, a full year ahead of schedule, Desiderio said triumphantly.
“What this means is, we’ll be riding on a brand new road coming and going in Sea Isle,” he said. “If we ever need to evacuate, we’ll be riding above the flooding.”
