March 30, 2018
PROVIDED//Landis Real Estate Co.
The Townsends Inlet Bridge could reopen by the end of July, if construction continues to go according to plan, Cape May County announced.
For the second year in a row, a heavily traveled bridge in at the Jersey Shore will close for a period of time while crews make structural repairs.
The Townsends Inlet Bridge, which connects Avalon and Sea Isle City, will shut down for about three weeks beginning at 7:30 a.m. on April 2, according to a statement from Cape May County officials.
Crews are scheduled to replace the bridge's railing and in the area adjacent to its movable span.
The bridge will have to be closed during the project due to insufficient width for a construction barrier that would separate traffic from the work site.
When the bridge reopens, the railing replacement will move on to the third phase of the four-phase project, requiring the closure of the northbound lane on the Avalon half of the bridge. Traffic will be maintained in the southbound lane using a temporary traffic signal system and no tolls will be collected during this time.
Last summer, the 78-year-old bridge was closed for more than two months after divers discovered a crack in a support piling 20 feet below the water.
Fortunately, this year's closure will occur a head of the influx of visitors that comes with the start of shore season on Memorial Day weekend.
