Oceanic Bridge MIDDLETOWN — Rehabilitation of the Oceanic Bridge will begin after Columbus Day and will close the bridge to all traffic for months, according to Bill Heine, director of public information for Monmouth County.
“It’s a long time coming,” said Todd Thompson, president of the Friends of the Oceanic Bridge Association (FOBA). “It got tangled up and should’ve happened probably four or five years ago. They wouldn’t have put a 3-ton limit on it if it wasn’t in bad shape.”
“It’s going to inconvenience a lot of people,” said Thompson. “The bad news is, it’s going to be closed for nine months. The good news is it’s not going to be closed for 12 months. It has to be done.”
According to Heine, the bascule span, the part of the bridge that opens and closes, needs maintenance.
“Right now, we have to rehabilitate the main steel support and metal grid deck of the actual draw bridge,” Heine said.
On July 14, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders awarded a $3.5 million contract to Iron Bridge Group Inc., of North Brunswick, to complete the rehabilitation work on the bridge. Heine said this should give the structure another 10 years of life.
Thompson estimates that there are thousands of cars that use the bridge daily. In order to travel from Rumson to Middletown during construction, detours will take drivers to the Cooper Bridge in Red Bank or through Sea Bright to the Highlands Bridge.
The 70-year-old Oceanic Bridge faces a similar situation as the Highlands Bridge, before its drawbridge structure was replaced with a modern, high-arc bridge.
While it undergoes rehabilitation to squeeze out another decade of life, county officials along with Middletown and Rumson residents will be meeting to discuss plans for a future and total bridge replacement, said Heine.
Thompson said, that when the friends group formed in 2005, they wanted a replacement similar to the drawbridge that already exists.
“That bridge has historic merit. It’s eligible for the historic registry, it’s the longest bridge in the county and it’s in between two historic districts.”
Heine said that the county has been working for many years to get money in place for a shore-to-shore replacement, a project estimated to cost $100 million.
Though the county and residents support a low, drawbridge replacement, the federal government distributes transportation funding and does not want to pay for the more expensive drawbridges, according to Heine.
“The benefit of the high arc bridge is that you don’t have to pay anyone to be a bridge tender and there’s no moving parts to maintain,” he said.
But according to Thompson, residents appreciate the aesthetic value, which adds to local property values.
FOBA commissioned an economic impact study, which was submitted to the county on the Route 35 high-arc and the Route 71 drawbridge in Belmar, both of which span the Shark River.
Thompson said there was as much as a 23 percent decline in property values for properties with a view of the high bridge compared to those with a view of the low bridge.
“But it’s not a precise science,” he added. “That was what the figures showed for a certain time frame and a certain area, and we felt it was relatively common.”
Heine said, “We [county] don’t want a high level bridge. The residents don’t want a high level bridge. We’re trying to convince the federal government to allow us to put a low level bridge that essentially looks the same as the one they have there now.”
Thompson said they’ve had very strong public support for a low-bridge replacement for about five years now, including county freeholders and recreational commissioners.
“We just need to make sure people still feel that way.”
The Monmouth County Division of Engineering in conjunction with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration are obligated under federal and state regulations to hold public meetings during the consultation process.
According to the county engineering website, these Public Information Centers will discuss replacement alternatives of the bridge and aim to solicit public input and comment.
“It’s going to be discussing a little bit of everything. I’m sure they’re going to cover the need to replace the bridge entirely, but the main focus of these meetings is about the work that’s going to happen over this winter with the closure,” said Heine on Sept. 15.
“It’s a way for us to get the word out. What we hope to get out of it is just public support and understanding why this is necessary,” he said.
Middletown residents will have an opportunity for their voices to be heard on Monday, Sept. 26, at the Municipal Court Room, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Rumson’s public hearing took place at the Charles S. Callman Courtroom in Rumson Borough Hall on Sept. 19.