Wikipedia/Dorset Avenue bridge
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
NORTHFIELD – The Atlantic County Board of County Commissioners approved an emergency appropriation Tuesday, March 2 to ensure large boat operators don’t have to take the long way around to access the Intracoastal Waterway.
The county commissioners awarded a $674,253 contract to low bidder South State, Inc. for the emergency repairs to the gearboxes on the Dorset Avenue bridge. Although bidding is not required for emergencies, the county solicited two quotes and accepted South State’s bid of $422,500. The second bid was quoted at $519,000. However, upon inspection there were additional costs so a change order for $251,753 was included in the resolution approved by the commissioners, the county’s Public Information Officer Linda Gilmore said. The county will finance the project through existing bonds.
Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick said she was “shocked” to learn the county spends an estimated $1 million a year to maintain the aging structure.
“It was shocking to me. And the problem is, it’s the Intracoastal Waterway, which is governed by the federal government, and we have to provide transportation over and under the bridge. It feels unfair that we should have to bear all of that burden for a federal waterway,” she said.
FILE/Crowds line the Dorset Avenue Bridge in Ventnor to catch a view of the Go Green Parade participants paddling down the inland waterway.
County Administrator Jerry Del Rosso said the U.S. Coast Guard governs the bridge, which must be able to be opened to larger vessels, including Coast Guard boat patrols and barges.
“There is no other way, unless you go through the ocean to get to the Intercoastal,” he said. “We’re in a position where there are no other alternatives for certain sized boats.”
Dorset Avenue, a.k.a., County Route 629, a major thoroughfare connecting Ventnor Heights with the city proper, crosses over the Strauss trunnion bascule drawbridge that spans Inside Thorofare. It carries vehicular and pedestrian traffic and is the main corridor for summertime visitors coming into and exiting the city, especially on weekends. The section of Dorset Avenue between Wellington Avenue and the bridge is also one of the city’s busiest business districts.
According to WaterwayGuide.com, the bridge is operational on signal, and is scheduled to open at the 15 and 45 minute mark during daylight hours from June 1 to Sept. 30.
The 229-foot-long bridge was built in 1929 by the Strauss Bascule Bridge Co., of Chicago, and is old enough to be on the National Register of Historic Places.
The broken secondary gear boxes were removed in February and sent to Philadelphia to be refurbished.
County Engineer John Peterson said the bridge opening mechanism is completely inoperable right now, but the county is hopeful it could be fully restored by summer.
“We will get at least one of the gear boxes refurbished and re-installed before the summer season. Otherwise, the Coast Guard has threatened in the past to put a crane out there and open the bridge, more or less permanently, until it is fixed,” he said.
He acknowledged that losing access over and under the bridge would be a public safety concern for Ventnor, especially during the summer tourism season.
“We’re trying to expedite it as quickly as we can,” he said.
“We talk about the bridge so much the last few years and the money we put into it,” Commissioner Jim Bertino said.
He said the Bridges and Roads Committee reviewed the bridge a few years ago, but determined it is not feasible to replace it.
“We’re stuck with it at the moment the way it is,” Bertino said.
The bridge will remain in the down position until the gear boxes can be reinstalled. Installing one gear box at a time will allow one leaf of the bridge to be opened for large boats passing below. Repairs would cause minimal disruption to the flow of vehicular traffic, Peterson said.
“We believe it will be ready to open for boat traffic by summer,” he said.
The Coast Guard is responsible for notifying marine operators of the status of traffic along the ICW.
Ventnor Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Kriebel said the governing body will be closely following developments on the bridge repair.
“We can’t have Ventnor Heights cut off from the rest of the town, but I look at the county’s effort as a positive,” he said.
Kriebel, who kayaks along the waterway, said he can attest that the bridge is old and rusted.
“I pass under it all the time, but it has beautiful lines and the towers on either side are beautiful,” he said.
Kriebel said it would be “concerning” if the Coast Guard decided to leave the bridge in the open position, but he believes the county will have it fixed in time for tourists to flock to the city. Residents are used to traffic changes to accommodate bridge repairs, he said.
“We’ve been through the one-lane traffic adjustments, so we are used to that,” he said.
In other business, the board noted it received $7.8 million in federal funds to assist renters affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CDBG-CV Short Term Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance Grant Program will provide temporary rental and mortgage assistance for up to six months to low- to moderate-income households that have had a substantial reduction in income or became unemployed due the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more about the program’s income limits and fill out an application at https://acianj.org/applications/index.asp#annTop
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