"Instead of just a causeway that leads in and out of Ocean City, this project will actually make the Route 52 Causeway a destination unto itself," Ocean City Mayor Sal Perillo said. "People will actually look forward to going there."
Under the state's plan, the two fixed bridges and two drawbridges connecting Somers Point to Ninth Street in Ocean City are being replaced by two fixed spans more than five stories above the Intracoastal Waterway.
Shoregoers will welcome the change. Besides the annoying hourly openings during summer, the drawbridges - one at each end of the causeway - were notorious for malfunctioning on the hottest days, when the gears would stick with a bridge open and tie up traffic in both directions.
Built across the Great Egg Harbor Bay in the 1930s over a series of islets, the causeway had four 10-foot-wide lanes and no shoulders, a hazardous design for today's higher speeds and SUVs.
The causeway was designated an evacuation route for the barrier island where Ocean City grew, but was so close to the water that waves would wash over the two lowest bridges whenever a strong storm hit, forcing officials in recent years to close the road for safety.
The planned elevated causeway will ensure the road can be used in an emergency, Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri said.
"The Route 52 Causeway, which will provide a critical evacuation route, represents one of the largest bridge projects the NJDOT has ever undertaken," he said. "We look forward to advancing construction as quickly as possible."
The project began in July with construction of the northbound lanes connecting Elbow and Garrets Islands and of a section of road across Rainbow Island.
The four new lanes - two in each direction - will feature 12-foot-wide lanes, 8-foot shoulders on each side, and a concrete median barrier.
