Bridge Repairs Win Board Approval

CAPE MAY – If Cape May County had no barrier islands to connect or small waterways to cross, bridge maintenance would not be a budget factor. There are islands that must be linked, and in a marine environment, metal and concrete have finite lifetimes. Repairs can result in considerable bills.
If it were not for decorative lighthouse replicas and metal decking, few motorists might realize they are crossing the Lafayette Street Bridge (aka Schellenger Landing Bridge) from Lower Township into this city.
That bridge needs improvement, according to a resolution passed by freeholders Sept. 23 for $155,501.
County Engineer Dale Foster, in his caucus meeting report to the board prior to resolution passage, noted that during the last inspection cycle, that span’s superstructure condition was dropped to “poor.” Such a rating, Foster noted, “threw it into the structurally deficient category.”
In the county’s 2013 Local Bridge Future Needs program, it receives $1 million annually. Foster said $500,000 of that year’s allotment was earmarked for the project. Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. of Lebanon, N.J., submitted one of eight proposals for the job.
It will be the firm’s task to “develop plans for getting the bridge off the structurally deficient list,” Foster said. Recently the county received “more priority letters from a current bridge inspection” which made Foster’s office research more that might have to be done to the bridge.
“Replacement would be very difficult,” he said. Thus it is out of the list of possibilities. Repair is the only option. “We have to maintain this bridge as much as possible to keep it functioning.
Townsend’s Inlet Bridge
The never-ending expense to repair the bridge linking Avalon and Sea Isle City continued as Foster explained that $195,165 would be spent to cover over 200 “shop drawings” done by Modjewski and Masters, Inc.
“When we awarded the original contract we did not have any idea how many shop drawings they would have to review with the rehabilitation,” Foster said. The drawings were for “a lot of steel work and machinery work” that had to be reviewed.
Another cost on the bridge, will be for a 40-year-old cable that is “going bad” and must be replaced. That cable provides power and controls to raise the span. Part of the overall engineering work is for plans and specifications to replace the cable.
Because of that, he said, it would be necessary to modify a waterfront development permit “to trench into the inlet bottom.” Such a submarine cable must be specially made for each bridge, thus it will not be ready for construction until sometime next year.
“This is something that will take a little bit of time to get going,” Foster said.
Great Channel Bridge
No longer was an emergency, fixed in late July the east bascule leaf of 96th Street (Great Channel) Bridge linking Middle Township and Stone Harbor. A control strut broke at an inconvenient time for mariners, since the bridge could not be raised. Through foresight, after a similar situation several years ago, the county had a duplicate control strut crafted, which was utilized.
The bridge was closed to marine traffic July 28, and was returned to service by Aug. 1, Foster said. Called on for the repair was IEW Construction Group. Foster said he had a lot of experience working with (the firm),” which is used by the state Department of Transportation when its bridges need repair, he added.
The resolution passed by the board ratified the declaration of the emergency to fix the bridge.