Bridge’s Bike, Pedestrian Upgrade Deemed Too Expensive to Pursue

MARMORA – Each time County Engineer Dale Foster makes a presentation to Ocean City residents about Roosevelt Boulevard Bridge, the county’s highest volume bridge at 20,000 vehicles daily, he is pelted with the question, “Can’t you make this bicycle compatible?” On Jan. 12, he made a presentation to freeholders to let them know alternatives available, should one be selected. None was.
As part of a June 2015 contract to bridge consultants Greeman-Pedersen Inc. for design of deck rehabilitation, Foster said the firm was asked to look at rehabilitation of, not only the deck, but also what might be needed to make the bridge pedestrian and bicycle compatible. There were some wide eyes and throat clearing after he relayed the projected costs.
Built in 1964, the concrete span is 1,628 feet long and has a 14-foot wide lane in each direction of travel. There are narrow walkways for intrepid pedestrians or bicycle riders to walk their cycles.
The bridge is composed of 31 spans. One “steel through” girder in the main span is 93 feet long. There are 30 pre-stressed concrete girder spans of various lengths.
Deck replacement would entail 13 of those spans. The remaining ones would be “scarified” with a water process to a depth of three inches and replaced with new concrete.
The cost would be about $6 million. It could be done in the fall of this year, and would mean one lane closed for an extended period.
Foster termed the present roadway a “checkerboard” from years of repairs.
The bridge is located in a tight space with a residential-commercial entity on the north side and electric transmission lines to the south side.
Because of that, said Foster, “Anything we are looking at doing is on the south side, where we have the utility issue.” Clearance is a “big issue” there, too, since those wires must be at least 18 feet from the bridge. Any work on them would dictate at least a six-month notice to Atlantic City Electric to de-energize lines, which could only be done from late September to May.
He then explained alternatives for bicycle and pedestrian lanes, how they could be achieved, but how both would impact the right of way, utilities and the need for environmental permitting.
The existing bridge has walkways of 2.5 feet on either side, not much distance for safety, Foster acknowledged, especially when some vehicles have extended side mirrors.
A possible design could be reduction of the vehicle lanes to 12 feet 11 inches each, allow two side lanes of three feet 11 inches for two bike lanes. Walkers would thus be forced to walk in the bike lane.
That idea would cost about $10 million.
Foster said that there were few who ever asked if the bridge could be made pedestrian friendly. “Share the Road” signs would be used, he said.
To have a six-foot pedestrian lane and two three-foot six-inch bike lanes could cost about $12 million, with steel brackets to support the pedestrian lane. Vehicle lanes would be reduced to 12 feet and 14 feet.
A shared 10-foot pedestrian-bike lane also supported by steel brackets and 12-foot vehicle lanes would cost $14 million.
He also said a separate 10-foot-wide bike lane-pedestrian walkway could be built. That would be a new structure next to the bridge, but would need “a significant number of regulatory permits” and could be built independent of the deck rehabilitation program. There was no figure attached to that final proposal.
Freeholder E. Marie Hayes, an Ocean City resident, realized the “enormous amount of money we are looking at” but wondered if any funding was available for pedestrian or bicycle projects such as this.
Foster replied he sought state and federal funding for the proposals, but found the projects explored exceeded the $5 million the state set aside for projects throughout the state. “We’re looking for $6 million.”
Thus, anything that would be built would have to be funded entirely by the county. Because the bridge is not considered “structurally deficient” it is difficult to get more funding.
Foster told the board that, in the scheme of funding, “A deck is readily repairable.”
“It’s very unsafe,” said Hayes, noting that, due to the elevation, some bicyclists may be inclined to walk their bikes over on the narrow walkways.
“What is the safety record for that bridge in the last five years?” asked Freeholder Will Morey.
Foster said he was not aware of any such accidents, since not that many use the bridge for that purpose.
Like the movie “Field of Dreams,” Foster said, “If you build it they will use it. When we opened the Ocean City-Longport Bridge, we did not include walkways. However, a wide shoulder was provided there, as a result people walk and jog across there. It’s much wider, Foster said, at 38 feet versus 28 feet.
Director Gerald Thornton added that bridge, with a price tag about $60 million, was “almost all done with state and federal money.”
“Can’t do it. It’s too expensive,” said Thornton. “They do have that one on Ninth Street.”
“I would point to the fact that takes you into Atlantic County,” countered Hayes.
A quick glance from Thornton resulted in Hayes adding, “I get it. I got the look.”