NPS super to DEP: Replace Route 36 bridge

BY SUE MORGAN Staff Writer

BY SUE MORGAN
Staff Writer

The Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge The Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge SEA BRIGHT – Public safety, not historic value, ought to be the state’s priority in deciding the future of the Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge, according to a federal representative of Gateway National Park’s Sandy Hook unit.

In an Oct. 23 letter to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson, Superintendent Richard E. Wells, superintendent of the Sandy Hook unit, urged state officials to move ahead with plans for replacing the 74-year-old drawbridge over the Shrewsbury River this coming spring.

At that time, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) is expected to start construction on the 35-foot-high, moveable bridge that carries state Highway 36 over the river and links Highlands and Sea Bright. It also provides access to Sandy Hook.

The DOT’s plans call for a 65-foot-high fixed span to be erected and for the drawbridge to be razed.

Although the DEP’s Historic Sites Preservation Council voted on Oct.19 to deny the DOT application due to the existing bridge’s historic and cultural value and its tie-in to the Twin Lights on the Highlands side, in his letter, Wells asked Jackson to disregard the council’s decision.

“Considering the potential consequences of no action or the sweeping impacts on the larger community resulting from a major rehabilitation of the existing bridge, I am convinced that the proposed bridge replacement is in the best interest of the public,” he wrote.

“I urge you to look at impacts on the broader human environment and not simply through the narrow lens of the effect on a historic property,” Wells went on.

“In the best interest of the people of New Jersey, I respectfully request that you grant the application for replacement of the Route 36 bridge.”

In contrast to Wells, a group of local preservationists from Highlands, Sea Bright, Atlantic Highlands and the Belford section of Middletown, are calling for the drawbridge to be spared because of its historic value to the area.

The Coalition for Sandy Hook Ferry Service is advocating expansion of the existing seasonal, weekend-only ferry service from Highlands to Sandy Hook to alleviate the high level of summer traffic on the span.

To halt the DOT construction, due to start in April, the group has appealed to the Sea Bright Borough Council to seek an injunction against the state agency’s plan.

A resolution withdrawing support for the demolition of the existing bridge and opposing construction of a fixed span was to be voted on by the Sea Bright council at last Tuesday’s meeting.

Leaders of the preservation group have undertaken an extensive letter-writing campaign to state officials asking that the DOT repair the bridge instead of tearing it down and replacing it.

The Historic Sites Preservation Council’s vote in favor of saving the bridge came in response to the hundreds of letters that were forwarded by state officials to the council according to Highlands resident Jim Parla, a leader of the preservationist group.

However, in the letter to Jackson, Wells argues that the current bridge is “fracture critical” and not a candidate for repair.

“An adequate repair would constitute a major rehabilitation replacing the structural system, the mechanical equipment, the bascule section, and the road deck,” Wells wrote.

Because the bridge is part of a coastal evacuation and emergency services route, it must remain open while the replacement span is built over it, he explained.

If the bridge were to be rehabilitated, it would have to be closed for the duration of the construction, an action that would cause traffic coming from Sandy Hook or Sea Bright to take alternate routes to cross the river, Wells concluded.

“This action would force all traffic to the Jersey Shore through the towns of Rumson, Locust and Navesink, Wells wrote.

Though Parla as well as Sea Bright Mayor Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams have publicly stated that officials and residents on both sides of the bridge had little input into the DOT decision to replace the span or even in its final designs, Wells indicates that he has been actively engaged in the process since 2001.

The DOT has reached out to local elected representatives and area residents for their input over the past five years that it has pursued the project “in earnest,” he noted.

“Throughout this effort, a full range of alternatives have been evaluated and elected officials or their designees and agency representatives have participated fully in the process,” Wells wrote to Jackson.

The Historic Site Preservation Council, based in Trenton, is an advisory branch of the state DEP and does not mandate policy.

However, Jackson is expected to rule on whether to accept the council’s opinion..

DOT officials have stated that the construction will go forward to enhance motorist safety and to make the span, which now opens regularly to let taller watercraft travel underneath, more efficient.

Earlier this week, Wells said expanded ferry service would not be enough to significantly alleviate the volume of traffic traveling over the bridge to Sandy Hook beaches.

“No one advocates ferry service to Sandy Hook more than the National Park Service. We’ve had ferry service here since 1997 and we do everything within our power to facilitate and expand it,” Wells said.

“Last year there was a record number of visitors arriving by ferry from New York City, almost 9,000 on weekends, Wells said, “compared to 1.6 million people who came into the park during same time period.”

Plus, Wells pointed out the cost of ferry service limits it as an option for many beachgoers.

“Ferry service is a great thing,” he said. “It could alleviate some traffic, but how much?”