COURT HOUSE – Cape May County will be resuming construction on the Ingram’s Thorofare Bridge, beginning the week of Sept. 14.
According to a release, the construction activities will require that the contractor install a temporary concrete barrier curb offset from the existing bridge center line. The resultant lane width will be 11 feet. This lane restriction will continue until April 30, 2021, at which time the barrier will be removed and normal lane widths will be restored.
In April of 2020, the 96th Street bridge, leading into Stone Harbor, was load posted due to its compromised condition. The current load posting is 15 tons. This load posting is expected to remain in effect for the foreseeable future. Therefore, any oversized loads over 11 feet in width, which weigh more than 15 tons gross weight, will not be able to cross the 96th Street bridge.
There are also 15-ton load postings on the Ocean Drive bridges, at the south end of Stone Harbor and the north end of Avalon. As a result, if work is programmed to occur in Avalon or Stone Harbor between Sept. 14, 2020, through April 30, 2021, and will compose a load wider than 11 feet and weighing more than 15 tons, such loads should be taken across the Ingram’s Thorofare bridge before Sept. 14.
Also, note that once such loads cross the bridge, they will not be able to return from Avalon or Stone Harbor between Sept. 14, 2020, and April 30, 2021, unless they can be broken down into a width of less than 11 feet.
