NJDOT reaching milestone
in
Route 52 causeway project
Opening of southbound
side of new
Ship Channel bridge
planned for tomorrow
(Trenton) - NJDOT
officials today announced that a milestone
is expected to be reached tomorrow
on the new Route 52 causeway linking
the Jersey Shore destinations of Somers
Point, Atlantic County and Ocean City,
Cape May County.
NJDOT is scheduled to open the southbound
half of the new fixed bridge over
Ship Channel at the Somers Point end
of the causeway on the morning of
Thursday, December 15. The opening
of this bridge will, for the first
time, place two-way traffic - one-lane
in each direction - on the south side
of the causeway from end-to-end, from
the intersection of Shore Road and
Mays Landing Road in Somers Point
to Bay Avenue in Ocean City.
At each end of the causeway, the
old lift bridges will be demolished to clear the way for crews to build
the final two fixed-span bridges to
complete the entire causeway in both
directions. Under a restructured contract,
the causeway fixed bridges are scheduled
for completion by Memorial Day, 2012.
At that time, the new causeway is
expected to be fully opened with two
newly constructed travel lanes in
each direction. The causeway handles
up 40,000 motorists trips across the
causeway during peak travel days during
the summer season.
Construction on the Route 52 Causeway
Replacement project began in October,
2006, with a $145 million contract
to replace the middle 1.2 miles of
the 76-year-old causeway from Elbow
Island to Garret's Island. Work was
completed in the summer of 2009.
The $251 million ongoing contract
to complete the causeway and replace
two lift bridges began in September,
2009. The southbound half of the new
fixed-span bridge over Beach Thorofare
into Ocean City was opened in May
2011.
Work on the visitors center, fishing
piers and other amenities will be
completed by the end of 2012, with
minimal impact to motorists on the
causeway.
The precise timing of the work is
subject to change due to weather or
other factors. Real time travel
and construction information is
available online at www.511nj.org
|