Water, Water Everywhere

The most obvious geographical element identifying our county is water. There is lots of it. We play in it, fish in it, paint it, admire it, fear it, boat  in it and — in order to get anywhere — we have to cross over it. That means, we have a lot of bridges; we have high ones, low ones, short ones, long ones, we have fixed bridges, and we have drawbridges. We even have bridges of historic design.
There is very little all these bridges have in common with one another, except one thing – almost every one of them is old, having been constructed in the era of the Great Depression. They’re in their dotage.  If they were people, they would be in hospice care. Every time I head to Cape May over the Middle Thorofare Bridge, I wonder how strong the rust and paint would be if a car, or even a bicycle, for that matter, slammed into those decrepit “guard” rails.
Granted not all the bridges are so scary, but the one going from Court House into Stone Harbor more than once had to be closed for repair in the last year. Because it was built with a particular style, which is deemed “historic,” repair is a particularly knotty problem.
Each bridge has its story. I have to admit I love the drawbridges, not only for the common excuse it offers for being late, “the bridge was up,” but because they, of necessity, cause me to stop and look around as the red light blinks and the raucous alarm bell sounds. The fishing and pleasure boats passing underneath remind me of the joy of living by the ocean.
For years we have taken our bridges for granted, that they would serve us forever. But then, several years back, Sea Isle City Taxpayers Association started to raise the alarm. Thereafter, one of their engineers, Joe McDevitt, joined the Cape Issues group, and has stayed on the topic.
Because we are in communication with county government, we know that they share our concerns. Joe McDevitt, Mike McKeaney and I, from Cape Issues, met Oct. 23 with Robert “Bob” Church, the new county engineer, with Leslie Gimeno, director, county Office of Economic Resources and Capital Planning, with Nancy Mauro, Public Works administrator, and with Jennifer Marandino, executive director of South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization.  They updated us on the initial steps being taken toward planning, funding and construction of the bridges which will serve us in the years ahead.
This will be a long and expensive undertaking to replace all of these links, but a journey has to begin sometime. (While we were there we also discussed completing Route 55; that will be a topic for another day.)
If you were worried about future generations being able to enjoy aquatic Cape May County’s beauty – Don’t worry; the necessary steps are being taken.  But, yes, the new bridges will cost us money, just the same way the old bridges cost prior generations money, so we could enjoy them. For those funds, our government will require our support.