Expand / Collapse search
☰

Bridge linking New Jersey shore towns to close for 8 months

Published  August 18, 2018 4:24pm EDT
US
FOX 29 Philadelphia

SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. (AP) -- A bridge that connects two New Jersey shore towns will close in mid-September for about eight months for renovation.

Cape May County officials said Friday that the Townsends Inlet Bridge that connects Avalon and Sea Isle City will close Sept. 17 to replace seven of the 27 spans.

The 1,373-foot bridge was closed in April for emergency repairs to railings. It was also closed in 2017 after an underwater inspection of bridge pilings found structural damage.

Officials say most demolition and construction for the nearly $8.6 million project will involve floating equipment, but the work will stay outside the navigational channel.

The county wants to replace the bridge, which was built about 80 years ago, but estimates a new bridge could cost as much as $155 million.