OCEAN CITY – To sighs of relief from residents and anticipated ones from the traditional surge of summer tourists, the bridge deck rehabilitation project on the Roosevelt Boulevard Bridge (County Road 623), known by all as the Ocean City 34th Street Bridge that links that barrier island to Marmora, is finally finished.
The $6.5-million rehabilitation was done in multi-phases by nationally-prominent engineering and construction company, Greenman-Pedersen.
Constructed in 1964, the bridge is comprised of 31 spans for a length of 1,628 feet. Technical details include that the structure is a single steel-through-girder main span flanked by pre-stressed concrete girder spans with 14-foot-wide lanes in each direction.
According to previous statements from County Engineer Dale Foster, the bridge is mostly unchanged from the time of its construction. Regular deck repairs became increasingly necessary and frequent as time took its toll.
All construction had environmental permits and was careful to work around osprey nesting from March-August and as well as proper disposal of spoils and any remains of former bridge work.
Information provided by Upper Township Engineer Paul Dietrich indicated the bridge’s prior renovations were completed in 2005-2006 and again in 2009.
The current project entailed significant deck spall repairs and sealing as well as curb-to-curb deck replacement in 13 spans.
The main steel span was strengthened, and repairs were made to the adjacent sidewalk, railings, and parapet.
During all phases of its latest rehabilitation, the bridge was open to traffic at all times with a single lane open during construction. During peak summer season, from about mid-May until after Labor Day, over the couple of years of work, there were no lane closings. During the long-term single-lane closings, the construction company used temporary traffic signals to control alternating traffic on lanes of at least 11-foot widths.
Concrete construction barriers were also required to maintain safe traffic flow.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.
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