rap #108 06/18/09
FREEHOLDERS JOIN PROTEST OVER MIDSUMMER REPAIRS TO THE CAUSEWAY BRIDGE LINKING STAFFORD AND LBI
THE OCEAN COUNTY Board of Chosen Freeholders has joined a growing chorus of protests against the state’s plan to
repave the Causeway Bridge in the height of the summer tourist season.
“A traffic nightmare, there’s no other way to say it,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little.
The state Department of Transportation has already posted notices along Route 72 advising that lanes will be closed
for the resurfacing of the bridge linking Stafford Township and Long Beach Island beginning July 17.
“They could not have picked a worse time to close lanes,” Little said. “A lot of people are going to see that
traffic and just turn around”
At times, only one eastbound or westbound lane will be open to traffic.
State DOT officials said they are using federal stimulus money to resurface the only bridge to Long Beach Island.
The work had originally been scheduled to begin after the summer season was over, but the availability of the
federal money allowed the DOT to fast track the project.
Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari, who is the county’s tourism liaison, said seasonal businesses have already taken a
hit from the poor economy.
“Our Long Beach Island businesses depend on the key months of July and August to get by,” he said. “Closing lanes
and making it more difficult for visitors to reach the beaches is only going to make the situation worse.”
Vicari said the work would also further inconvenience residents, who already must deal with all the extra summer
traffic on a daily basis.
The Freeholders penned a letter to Gov. Jon Corzine and state Transportation Commissioner Stephen Dilts asking
that the resurfacing be postpone until after the summer.
Little said even off-season bridge work often leads to long traffic jams.
“The state has closed lanes in October and the traffic has backed up all the way to the Parkway,” he said. “July
would be 10 times worse.”
The Freeholders also questioned why Trenton is committing federal dollars to repave a bridge that the DOT has
already announced would be replaced in several years.
“The state should stop dragging its feet and build the new bridge as planned,” Freeholder Director John C.
Bartlett Jr. said. “Tourism is vital to New Jersey’s economy and Trenton needs to look at both the Causeway and the Mathis
Bridge in Toms River to make sure these important spans are replaced with new modern bridges.”
The Freeholders also questioned what impact the Causeway lane closures could have if a teeming Long Beach Island
needs to be evacuated in the height of tourist season.
“This is just a bad idea throughout,” Little said. “Let’s hope Gov. Corzine and the DOT rethink this absurd plan.”
