Investing Wisely and Timely in Infrastructure

By Will Morey, CMC Freeholder 
Cape May County has splendid geography. Our peninsula boasts outstanding barrier island beaches on both the Atlantic and Delaware Bay shores, and an exceptional Intracoastal Waterway system including rich tidal marshes beaming with sea life supporting an abundant and diverse birding population.
The beautiful environment in which we live does come with the reality that access is more complex than with simpler geography; thus, Cape May County has more than a typical share of bridge crossings over salt water, and with them comes the need for structured maintenance and eventual reconstruction or replacement.
The county, with state and federal participation on certain projects, has been diligent in replacement and renewal of the mainland to barrier island access points. Starting from the north, the Longport and Somers Point Bridges to Ocean City are both new within the past 15 years. The Roosevelt Bridge is now undergoing substantial upgrade and will have a service life of at least 25 years.
The Sea Isle City Causeway is in the process of being replaced and elevated, and the bridge into Sea Isle has at least 20 years of service life remaining before life extensions.               
Both Avalon and Stone Harbor Causeways have decades of service life, as does the Avalon Causeway Bridge. The Stone Harbor Causeway Bridge has just completed major renovation, and as a bridge designated as historically significant, will continue to be upgraded in place.
The North Wildwood Causeway and Bridge were new in 1992-93 and have decades of service life remaining. Wildwood’s Route 47 Causeway and Bridge are in good shape. The Parkway Bridge into Cape May City, a full state responsibility, is structurally sound but could use aesthetic enhancements. The Route 9 West Cape May Bridge has significant service life remaining.
There are numerous other small/ short bridges in Cape May County, but all are easily sequenced into the county’s regularly updated capital improvement plan.
The balance of the bridges and those for which long-range planning has intensified are the remaining Ocean Drive Bridges, which provide access between barrier islands (except in Wildwood Crest where the Middle Thoroughfare Bridge connects to the Parkway).
The referenced Ocean Drive Bridges will undergo reconstruction-in-place or adjacent replacement, mostly beginning in five years and continuing for 15 years thereafter. The Townsend’s Inlet Bridge, which due to location has recently experienced severe scouring of its southern foundation, is the exception and will undergo a partial reconstruction beginning September 2018. The county has the funds in place for that project.
Fortunately, the county is in excellent financial condition with very modest debt and an extremely high bond rating (Aa1, second highest rating possible). As a result, we will be able to complete our long-range Ocean Drive Bridge construction and financial funding and bonding plan by March 2018. The plan will be utilizing a portion of county tax directed on an annual basis to finance the major construction activity expected to take place from 2022 through 2035. The impact on taxpayers will be minimal. Additionally, over the term, we expect that state and federal funds will be available to pay a portion of the overall projects.
In addition to the above bridge and causeway projects, the county is engaged with and kicking-off a number of significant road projects. A few examples are projects in the Court House area of Middle Township, the complete reconstruction of Sunset Boulevard from Cape May City to Sunset Beach, the repaving of Broadway/Seashore Road from the West Cape May Bridge to Myrtle Avenue, the Wildwood City Gateway project, Corson’s Tavern Road in Dennis Township, and Bayshore Road in the Villas. A detailed multi-year plan for roadway improvement is in place and will be updated in early 2018.
In county government, as in life, balance is important. One can always argue that more should be done faster or that less should be done and spent. My goal, as well as that of my Freeholder colleagues, is to be proactive and responsible about infrastructure, to do well and smartly what should or must be done, and to do so with a forward looking financial plan that keeps county taxpayers and taxes squarely in mind.
Investing wisely and timely in infrastructure is an important contributor to our goal of making Cape May County a great place to live, work and visit.
Ordered and paid for by CMCRRO, PO Box 1069, Wildwood, NJ 08260