Officials at First Feared It Would Be Closed for Weeks
Contrary to initial fears that the Middle Thorofare Bridge might be closed for weeks after the drawbridge motor failed Aug. 17, the Cape May County Bridge Commission was able to reopen it within a few days after locating a new motor, Commission Director Kevin Lare said.
According to Lare, the bridge malfunctioned on Saturday morning, Aug. 17. He said that at about 5 p.m. that day he, along with Rich Marchetti, consulting engineer from Total Control Systems, made the decision to abandon trying to repair the primary motor. A crane was subsequently used to raise the drawbridge, so boats could pass.
“In this case, the electric motor that spins the shafts that turn the gears that raise the bridge had a catastrophic failure,” Lare said.
Marchetti was able to locate an auxiliary motor in Allentown, Pennsylvania, about midmorning on Monday, Aug. 19. About noon that day, a truck was sent to Allentown to pick up the motor, and Marchetti ordered some specialty parts to be shipped overnight. The new motor was installed, and the Bridge Commission was able to announce that the span was reopened for all traffic on Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 2 a.m.
Lare said they had looked at auxiliary motors at the Great Channel and Corson’s Inlet bridges, but after further inspection Marchetti determined they would not work at Middle Thorofare. Lare said that at one point there was a gas-powered redundancy motor at the Middle Thorofare Bridge.
He said the Bridge Commission will have a new motor manufactured. “We believe it is a custom-built motor,” he said.
Once the new motor is installed, there will again be a backup or redundancy motor.
The Middle Thorofare Bridge is located in Lower Township and connects Diamond Beach to Cape May.
On Aug. 18 it was announced that the bridge would be closed to vehicular, pedestrian and bike traffic for an undetermined length of time.
Bridge engineers concluded that the motor was inoperable and irreparable, and since the motor was highly specialized, the Bridge Commission anticipated a best-case scenario of having to wait “many weeks” for a replacement.
Design bids for an approximately $250 million replacement project for the Middle Thorofare Bridge went out on July 10. County Engineer Robert Church said there were two responses, and the county is evaluating them and will likely award a contract for engineering in October.
He said the county is maintaining the schedule projected in the spring. It was anticipated at that time that preliminary engineering design would take three years, and final design another two years.
The project involves about 2.7 miles from the base of the Garden State Parkway to Madison Avenue in the Diamond Beach section of Lower Township. The project includes two low-level bridges – the Mill Creek Bridge and the Upper Thorofare Bridge — as well as the Middle Thorofare Bridge, which now opens for fishing boats and tall-masted sailboats. The plan is to construct a 2,700-foot span with a clearance of 80 feet.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
