Published: Thursday, November 13, 2008
UPPER TOWNSHIP - The owners of the Beesleys Point Bridge have agreed to return $900,000 in state grants, ending a stalemate that has been partly responsible for keeping the bridge closed since 2004.
Local lawmakers said the Beesleys Point Bridge Co. agreed to repay the 1997 grant, which the state awarded on condition the two-lane drawbridge remain open for 20 years.
The private bridge company closed its toll bridge spanning the Great Egg Harbor Bay in 2004 after a leaning concrete pier threatened to fall into a steel support. The bridge has remained closed to drivers since then.
The Cape May County Bridge Commission and the state Department of Transportation, or DOT, are working on a plan to take over the bridge. Under the proposal, the Beesleys Point Bridge Co. would transfer ownership of the bridge to the county at no cost, making it the county's sixth toll bridge.
The bridge generated about $900,000 per year in tolls when it was open. The state would pay the bulk of the repair costs, estimated at $20 million. The county would repay most of that through toll receipts. These repairs are expected to keep the bridge open for about 15 years.
State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, has been brokering a deal involving the county, the state and the company to reopen the bridge. But those negotiations languished for months.
Van Drew on Tuesday said the bridge company had to be persuaded the state was intent on repairing the span.
"The bridge company just wanted to see there was a commitment on the part of government to get this done," Van Drew said.
The DOT's cost-sharing agreement with the county remains in place, he said.
Bridge co-owner Stephen Hankin could not be reached Wednesday evening.
The bridge links Atlantic and Cape May counties and provides the fastest route to the nearest hospital for many residents in Upper Township.
"The bridge is still a priority for evacuation purposes," Van Drew said.
According to a state audit, the Beesleys Point Bridge made $876,000 in its last full year of operation, slightly less than the commission's most prosperous toll bridge between Ocean City and Longport.
Upper Township Committeeman Jay Newman said reopening the span is still a priority.
"Obviously we want the bridge back open for public safety purposes more than anything," he said. "There were several instances when it could have been used to help people get to the hospital or relieve traffic on the (Garden State) parkway. There were other instances where the parkway bridge was totally blocked."
Cape May County Administrator Stephen O'Connor said county freeholders are awaiting the results of a small-scale environmental study they funded in August to determine if any environmental problems were documented or witnessed at the site previously.
"Anticipating there won't be any environmental problems, we intend on taking possession of the bridge by the end of this month," O'Connor said.
A deal is also contingent on the project costing less than $20 million, a figure that came from a state Department of Transportation study.
The county's engineer is reviewing the figures to determine if the price tag changed since the study's release last year.
The Beesleys Point Bridge has been a lingering concern for Cape May County officials concerned that its closing blocked one of the county's few evacuation routes.
Freeholders even sued the DOT in 2007, alleging the state had not done enough to reopen the bridge. The county dropped its suit earlier this year following the takeover proposal.
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