What You Need To Know: Traffic Delays On 3 New Jersey Bridges

This week, prepare for traffic delays on three bridges that connect the Intercoastal Waterway known to South Jersey Locals and Vacationers as Ocean Drive. These bridges are the link between six different Cape May County Coastal Municipalities and they will be undergoing mandatory State Bridge Inspections and Testing.

The Townsends Inlet Bridge that connects Sea Isle City and Avalon will have delays anticipated from 8 am to 11 am on Tuesday, December 12th.  Originally opened for traffic in 1940, this Bridge has undergone some serious repairs in recent years and this inspection is a necessary follow-up. Drivers are being informed that traffic will be halted in both directions for periods of 15 minutes on Tuesday morning.

The Middle Thorofare Bridge connecting the southern end of the Wildwoods Island to Lower Township will have traffic delays estimated from 1 pm to 4 pm on Tuesday, December 12th. One of the oldest bridges in Cape May County, this bridge is part of popular County Highway 621 that is the home of several businesses located between Wildwoods' Diamond Beach and the main bridge that enters Cape May. Traffic traveling in both directions on this bridge will be stopped for periods of 15 minutes on Tuesday afternoon.

The Grassy Sound Bridge that connects North Wildwood Boulevard to County Route 619 heading into Stone Harbor will have delays for traffic planned from 8 am to 11 am on Wednesday, December 13th.  Almost two months after repairs began on the Great Channel Stone Harbor Bridge, the Ocean Drive Toll Bridge that directly connects Grassy Sound to Nummy Island will have delays that stop traffic in both directions for periods of 15 minutes on Wednesday Morning.

All three of these Bridges were originally built thanks to a special grant from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works created as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Programs of the 1930s.  A total of $1.6 Million (approximately 37.3 Million today according to Inflation Calculator) was allocated for the construction of a Coastal Highway that would connect all of the barrier island communities along the Southern Jersey Shore Coastline.

Today, Ocean Drive is the Coastal Highway that starts with County Route 621 in Lower Township then switches over to County Route 619 outside North Wildwood and continues all the way north until you reach Ocean City.