Beesley's Point Bridge

The Beesley's Point Bridge was a bridge in New Jersey, United States, that was built privately by the Ocean City Automobile Club in 1927. Completed in 1928, control of the bridge was acquired by the Beesley's Point Bridge Company. It was a toll bridge from its opening. Prior to its closing, it was best known for carrying U.S. Route 9 (US 9) over the Great Egg Harbor Bay, connecting Upper Township, in Cape May County to Somers Point in Atlantic County. The bridge concurrently carried the Garden State Parkway over the Great Egg Harbor Bay from the Parkway's opening in 1954 until a separate bridge over the bay for the Parkway, the Great Egg Harbor Bridge, opened in 1955.[1]

Beesley's Point Bridge
The Beesley's Point Bridge heading north
Coordinates
Carries2 lanes of US 9
CrossesGreat Egg Harbor Bay
Maintained byCape May County Bridge Commission
Characteristics
DesignCauseway
Total length4,800 ft (1,500 m)
History
Opened1928
Closed2004 (demolished 2013 - 2014)
Location

Through the decades, the Beesley's Point Bridge Company became unable to fund repairs on the aging bridge. In 1997, the bridge company, in conjunction with private outside investors, secured a $1 million loan from the New Jersey Department of Transportation to fund the necessary improvements in exchange for a promise that they would continue to keep the bridge open until 2016.[2]

In 2004, the owners of the bridge broke that promise realizing that the repairs would cost many times more than the original estimate. As a result, the Company agreed to close the bridge and it closed to traffic on June 18, 2004. US 9 was subsequently rerouted over the Great Egg Harbor Bridge.

History

In 1928, the Ocean City Automobile Club financed the construction of the Beesley's Point Bridge, connecting Somers Point to Beesley's Point via the Great Egg Harbor Bay.[3]

The remnants of the Beesley's Point Bridge in June 2018

In 2006, Hurricane Ernesto made Cape May County officials nervous because they lacked the use of the bridge as an additional evacuation route. As a result, Cape May County purchased the bridge from the Beesley's Point Bridge Company for $1 with the intent of rehabilitating it and opening it in 2012.[4] Several studies have been commissioned for the feasibility of doing so, but Cape May County engineers can only conclude that significant rehabilitation would only produce an extended life of up to 15 years. Costs vary on the price of rehabilitation, but it appears that only a 15-year realization on the investment is not worth the cost.

The NJDOT planned to fund a project to rehabilitate the bridge to at least 2019 in their Statewide Transportation Program 2011-2019.[5]

Cape May County officials, including Jeff Van Drew, stated that bridge rehabilitation would begin in mid-2010 and the bridge would reopen to traffic in 2012. On June 28, 2010 the Press of Atlantic City published an article revealing a previous crack in the existing deck had turned into a three-foot chasm.[6]

At the 7th Annual Cape May County Transportation Infrastructure Conference on February 22, 2011, it was announced that the bridge would be demolished but discussions were in the preliminary mode. Demolition of the bridge began in July 2013 in conjunction with a project that also replaced the Great Egg Harbor Bridge.[7]

On September 7, 2016 the toll bridge section caught fire. The last section of the bridge was demolished on November 18, 2016.[8]

Design
The old alignment of the Garden State Parkway at the Beesley's Point Bridge heading southbound. The center line is white (instead of yellow).

The bridge carried two lanes of traffic for approximately 4,800 feet. The structure immediately north over the Drag Channel was a separate structure and is commonly referred to incorrectly as the same structure resulting in an erroneous 6,000 foot total length.

The bridge contained 120 spans and had an 80-foot double leaf bascule span that opened for maritime traffic. The official NJDOT Historic Bridge Survey states that the substructure had been heavily reconstructed.[9] The bascule span received modern controls and electrical systems during the rehabilitation. Access to the mechanical rooms were denied for the final bridge inspection, but topside inspection revealed that the bascule appears heavily altered and thus is not eligible for historic preservation.

References
  1. "Cape May County NJ takes over private Beesley's Point Bridge". Toll Roads News. Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  3. Lee Procida (December 19, 2012). "Closed bridge ties Beesleys Point to the quiet life". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  4. Campbell, Al. "For $1, County Owns Beesley's Point Bridge". Cape May County Herald. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  5. FY 2010 - 2019 STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
  6. "Gaping hole in Beesleys Point Bridge further divides Somers Point, Upper Township, even on foot". 2010-06-23. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  7. Degener, Richard (February 29, 2012). "Anti-terrorism fence near parkway bridge between Atlantic, Cape May counties coming down in 2013". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  8. HIGGINS, COLUMB. "Blast demolishes last of Beesleys Point Bridge". Shore News Today. Archived from the original on 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
  9. NEW JERSEY HISTORIC BRIDGE DATA
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