Lettiere provides updated status of
Beesley's Point
Bridge
Repairs to
continue through the weekend
(TRENTON)—New
Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere
announced that the Beesley's Point Bridge will remain closed through
the weekend of June 18. Engineers will be working through
the weekend to develop a plan for the repair work. Repairs
should begin on Monday to several columns and a pier cap that
came loose earlier in the week.
Repairs will
focus on several columns that were part of the original 1928 bridge
structure. These columns broke loose from the bridge on
Wednesday, leading the Beesley's Point Bridge Corporation, to
close the bridge to vehicle traffic. Lettiere stressed
that these columns are not responsible for the structural integrity
of the bridge. The columns, which provided structural support
for the original 1928 bridge, became obsolete after a major bridge
overhaul in the 1980's. Steel bridge supports were installed
at that time and are the only necessary structural supports for
the bridge.
The NJDOT
has detour signs placed throughout the detour route and has employed
portable variable message signs (VMS) to alert motorists of the
changed traffic pattern. In addition, the Garden State
Parkway has signs alerting motorists to the closure of the bridge.
Commissioner
Lettiere stated that traffic continues to be effectively rerouted
to local roads and the Garden State Parkway to carry vehicles
over the Great Egg Harbor Bay between Cape May and Atlantic counties.
The Garden State Parkway has not experienced a marked increase
in traffic at this location as a result of this closure.
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