Completion of Repairs to 96th Street Bridge to be Extended for Overnight Closures Until June 16

STONE HARBOR – Completion of the priority structural repairs on the movable span of the Stone Harbor Boulevard (County Road No. 657) Bridge over Great Channel, a.k.a. 96th Street Bridge, needs to be extended one additional week as the result of rainouts and additional work. The original completion date for the overnight closures of the bridge was June 9 and the revised completion date for the overnight closures is June 16. 
The bulk of the priority structural repairs are in and about the movable span. Some of the repairs can only be made with the movable span in the up or open position, thus the need for the complete closure of the bridge to traffic. Many of the repairs consists of removing portions of deteriorated steel members and replacing with new steel members and attaching by either welding or bolting the new members in place.
The persistently rainy weather as of late resulted in delays in completing the needed repairs. In addition, some additional work and/or modifications to some of the proposed repairs requires additional overnight closures to complete the work.
Therefore next week, the additional overnight closures will be from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next day, Monday night, June 12 to Thursday night, June 15. No closures will occur the nights of June 16-18. All work requiring complete closure of the bridge should be completed by Friday morning, June 16.
Currently the bridge has a weight restriction of 15 tons. Once the repairs are completed, the weight restriction will be lifted and once again legal loads (up to 40 tons) will be allowed to transit the bridge. Until the repairs are completed, trucks must use Avalon Boulevard to access Stone Harbor.
The construction work is being performed by Agate Construction Company, Inc., Clermont, under a $734,165 construction contract. The project is on budget with a minor change order for the additional work. The repairs were designed by Michael Baker International, Inc., Hamilton, N.J.. The construction is being overseen by Remington and Vernick Engineers, Haddonfield, N.J.
The movable span to the 96th Street Bridge was constructed in 1930. The approach spans to the bridge were replaced during the off season of 1984-85 and 1985-86.
While the inconvenience of the construction is a necessary evil to repairing the bridge, the traffic control has been framed to disrupt traffic to the minimum extent as possible.
Questions should be directed to the Cape County Public Works Department at (609) 465-1035 or by email at countyengineer@co.cape-may.nj.us.