Community Corner

Oceanic Bridge: Feedback and History

An overview of the bridge's history and what's to come.

The Oceanic Bridge is ; and, on the subject of revamp, it’s back to the drawbridge.

There are a few facts that people can count on when it comes to the historic early 1940s art deco-style structure that spans the Navesink River, from Middletown to Rumson and vice versa.

At a forum hosted by Monmouth County on Monday night at the Middletown Arts Center, the of its kind, people from the communities surrounding the bridge gathered to hear an update on two priorities for the bridge’s future: it’s pending closing on Oct. 17 to remedy dire erosion; and, round two of the county’s quest to get full federal funding for the cost to replace the entire bridge in the near future.

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At the forum, Monmouth County Engineer Joseph Ettore gave a presentation on both issues in an attempt to bridge any communication gaps on the subject and urge people to forward any comments in writing to solidify the consensus that the county already knows and supports, but the state and federal governments need more convincing of:  Residents in the area want the bridge replaced with a replicated low-level drawbridge on a new alignment.

What that means is that the replacement would look and function similarly and be constructed next to the existing bridge, making it possible for the old bridge to be used through most of the 30-month construction — all except about six months’ time. The detour would have people going an estimated eight to nine miles out of their way.  

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It could be a couple of years until that time comes, Ettore said. In the meantime, the county has spent $1.3 million of an estimated $3.5 million on repairs essential to keeping it open, “since the county first came to the forefront with this,” he said.

The existing 98-foot bascule span, Ettore added, “must be safe enough to last until its (permanent entire bridge) replacement. If the drawbridge (section) is not repaired now, it will fail and we must close it. We are at the absolute minimum weight (tonnage of crossing that the bridge can support) of 3 tons now (optimum weight support is closer to 10 to 15 tons) … our immediate objective is to have a safe and reliable bascule span.”

Ettore went on to explain that the impending bascule repairs being done on the 2,752-foot bridge deck also deemed in “serious” condition are an investment that will also further ensure that the permanent replacement project, that will end up totaling more than $100 million in federally-granted funds, will come to fruition.

So, while that is being accomplished, the Oceanic Bridge will be closed from the Oct. 17 start date until May 20, 2012, in time for Memorial Day, he added.

Convincing the Federal Highway Authority, the funding source for the bigger project of the total bridge replacement, of the need to replace the bridge with a similar low-level drawbridge structure is another matter that is being revisited now.

It first came up in 2008, when knowing of the bridge’s “serious” condition, the county attempted to source the federal funding to replace it. Then the option of replacing the bridge on a different alignment with a structure similar to the one that exists was supported wholeheartedly by local communities.

“In fact, resolutions were passed by Rumson, Middletown, Little Silver and Fair Haven supporting that option,” Ettore said. “It was an overwhelming consensus,” on every level.

The problem: Federal policy dictates that “if the geometry allows you to have a high-level fixed span (bridge), then that is the de-facto choice” that entity will approve for funding, the county engineer explained.

An argument favoring any other choice must be convincingly substantiated.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT), the government arm that will bring it to the federal level for approval, must be convinced that any alternate choice will pass muster with the Federal Highway Authority.

And, in 2008, when the preferred option of reproducing a low-level drawbridge on a new alignment was presented to the state DOT, its representatives did not think the Oceanic drawbridge replacement argument was convincing enough for the feds to bypass the high, fixed span bridge replacement status quo.

They wanted to see a “defined social and economic impact, including recreational and historical implications,” Ettore said. “We felt we had justified everything … From a recreational perspective, this bridge does get a lot of joggers, cyclists and fishermen. It also has historic merit and is eligible for listing as a national historic structure …  Still the DOT felt the arguments were too subjective. And we didn’t want to go to the federal government with an adversarial position from the state DOT.”

One of those arguments labeled “subjective” by DOT was a $10,000 privately-conducted and funded survey by the grassroots Friends of the Oceanic Bridge association, a non-profit group created to champion a replacement drawbridge in the same historic style and low level.

The group’s study, though included in the package originally presented to the state to substantiate the need for the drawbridge option, was thought of as comprehensive and impressive by the county, yet too subjective by the state.

The state officials, Ettore said, commented that the study focused too much on the property values of one group and was thought of as something that could be easily seen as conducted by a biased party with skewed goals, since those who conducted it were paid by the drawbridge-biased group.

The state said, in essence, take the options back to the public again and see what happens.

So far, the same result has come out of two forums — one in Rumson last week and the one in Middetown this week — as well as other forms of communication, Ettore said. After three years, the result has been unwaveringly the same.

Of two basic options — the $41 million federally preferred fixed 65-foot tall span with no operational costs; or the $34.5 million low-level drawbridge with the 25-foot fixed clearance and moveable span with additional operational costs — the public and county, by all accounts, so far, still overwhelmingly support replacement of a similar historic, art deco-style drawbridge.The operational cost, to be assumed by the county, would be about $150,000 a year, Ettore said.

Some of the now-antiquated features, such as manual gate-keeping, would become automated and safety features would be enhanced with a three-rung horizontal guardrail, rather than two, and railings as a buffer between the bridge crosswalk and traversing traffic.

And that public is opting for a new alignment, because that means keeping the existing bridge operational through a lengthy construction period that could otherwise detour cars up to nine miles out of the way for more than two years, or 30 months, as opposed to a more minimal six months.

The replacement is slated to have a 75-year viability.

The county is encouraging people to send in written comments in support of their favored option. All will be tallied and taken into serious consideration. The comments, Ettore said, especially written, are vital to the project’s approval and success. They will be accepted until Oct. 26. You get instructions and view the information on the bridge project on the county Web site at www.visitmonmouth.com.


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