Freeholders Get Bridge Report; County’s Birthday Wish from Clerk

CREST HAVEN – County Clerk and Historian Rita Fulginiti reported on the local impact of the Nov. 8 general election, then imparted a historical note at the freeholder meeting Nov. 10. 
“Today is our birthday, Nov. 10, 1692. The Legislature approved the formation of Cape May County,” said Fulginiti. “Happy birthday, Cape May County.”
The county will mark its 325th year in 2017, a fact that the Departments of Culture and Heritage and Tourism are “on top of,” said the clerk.
Fulginiti reported to the board on the just-past election.
“We were prepared for anything. It was busy but the smoothest, most chaotic election I have been through in 32 years,” she continued.
The counting of provisional ballots, stalled by the Veterans Day holiday, would conclude Nov. 14. Once that is done, Fulginiti expected to certify the results.
Write-in candidates are expected to assume seats on boards of education in Cape May Point, West Wildwood, and Woodbine, Fulginiti reported.
She told the board “The mania that took place before this election with voters insisting they had to vote paper ballots. Folks afraid of elections being rigged didn’t want to vote on the voting machines.
“I spoke to each one who called the office and explained the process, it is a fair process, and, as it turned out, there were a few matters in court, routine matters for emergency ballots, but it was a really good election. Seventy percent voter turnout; almost 400 write-in votes for president, that has just improved. People want to make a statement, and they make their statement by writing in candidates for each and every office,” Fulginiti said.
Bridge Update
County Engineer Dale Foster updated the board on the 96th Street Bridge cracked girder. The bridge remains closed to marine and vehicular traffic as a truss is put in place that will permit safe passage over the double-leaf movable span.
The rolling bascule bridge, built in 1930, developed a crack that was spotted by a county crew Oct. 28. They notified Foster’s office. Subsequently, a state inspection crew, which had inspected the bridge a week earlier, found no cracks, Foster said.
Foster explained how a jack had to be put into place to raise the girder about two inches. Because the bridge is a double-leaf, the girder must be in the precise location, so no further damage later takes place, he said.
The system that is being temporarily used, he said, is a Bailey bridge, developed by the Army. It was delivered in pieces and erected onsite. It must be secured before further work is done and traffic allowed to cross the span.
The truss will cross 120 feet over the movable part of the bridge, he said.
The earliest opening is hoped to be Nov. 18, but Foster conceded, “It will probably run into the following week.”
Foster said he had received telephone calls from residents who were concerned that Stone Harbor’s ongoing back-bay dredge project may be placing stress on the bridge. They asked why there was no weight limit imposed.
“This girder (that is cracked) is on the inbound side. Trucks going out loaded are on the other side. They are coming in unloaded,” said Foster.
He has asked the consultant to “look at it (truck traffic).”
Foster noted “That crack can happen like that. There is no telling when it will happen.”
He said the county engaged the firm of Michael Baker to do the repairs since the firm had done the inspection. “There was a federal mandate. They are under contract with the (state) Department of Transportation for inspection of bridges. We hired them to perform the work to get the job done.”
There are only six bridges similar to the 96th Street Bridge in the nation. Because of that, some engineers from Oregon have toured the bridge because “Our bridge is the most original of the remaining bridges.”
The closest one Foster knew of was a railroad bridge in Baltimore.
“Years ago, when we went to improve the bridge and replace all the movable spans. It was 1983-84, at the time Stone Harbor did not want a new high-level bridge. We are left with what we’ve got here now,” said Foster.