Local Councils Adopt Resolutions Supporting Low Oceanic Bridge Replacement

Both Rumson and Fair Haven have newly adopted resolutions stating their desire for a low-lying replacement for the Oceanic Bridge.

Although they already had resolutions in place that stated their wants, they were over 4 years old. "Those resolutions were kind of stale so we basically updated it and made it fresh,” said Rumson Mayor John Ekdahl. Rumson adopted their new ordinance on September 27.

“Almost everybody is in favor of the lower option,” said Ekdahl based the attendance at the meeting held in Rumson on to discuss the bridge with county officials.

The officials in Fair Haven agree. They adopted their new resolution on Tuesday night. "The organization, The Friends of the Oceanic Bridge, have asked us to update our resolution in support of a low-lying replacement because our last one is about 5 years old," said Fair Haven Mayor Michael Halfacre at the regular council meeting at .

The resolution says a 70-foot bridge replacing the current bascule bridge would do the following:

• Degrade the traditional character of Rumson and Middletown Historic Districts

• Adversely dominate the views from the entire Rumson, Locus and Hartshorn Waterfronts as well as parts of Fair Haven and Sea Bright.

• Cause many of the homes and businesses near the Oceanic Bridge to have their river views blocked.

• Limit the size of the sail and powerboats that can use the Navesink River (eg: sailboats 36 ft. and greater would not be able to go under the bridge).

• Cause bicyclists, joggers and strollers including baby carriages to have a difficult time crossing the bridge.

• Cause Vehicles to be less able to safely cross the bridge in icy and snowy weather.

• Diminish the property values on both sides of the Navesink River based on the adverse impact on their view sheds.

Although there is a lot of local and county support for a low-bridge, “The decision is really up to the federal government. If you build a high bridge, they will pay half the cost. If you want to build a low bridge, you have to appeal to them to pay half the cost. It’s not necessarily an easy process,” said Mayor Ekdahl.

According to Ekdahl and the resolutions, the federal government has agreed to two low-bridges in the past, “one in Maryland and one in Florida. We’re just hoping that this is the third one that they approve,” said Ekdahl.

If the federal government does not approve funding for the low bridge, “then the county, because it is a county road, has to decide if they want to build a low-bridge on their own with no financial help or build a high bridge option at half the cost.”

Regardless of what the federal government decides, the bridge will be officially closed on October 17 for repairs.

According to the county website, “The planned repairs include the rehabilitation of Bascule Span, new grid deck, stringers, floor  beams, supporting steel work, mechanical/electrical repairs, hand/power tool cleaning, and painting existing bascule pan steel.” Click for more details on improvements.

County officials say the bridge should be reopened no later than May 20, 2012.