New Somers Point Bridge Now Open on Ocean City Causeway

Traffic moved to the new fixed-span bridge at the Somers Point end of the Route 52 causeway on Thursday morning (Dec. 15).

The towering new span over Ship Channel near Somers Point is one of two under construction. The existing drawbridge next to the new bridge must be demolished before the second span can be completed.

One lane of traffic in each direction now share the new span. When the second span is completed, each will carry two lanes of traffic.

Work to shift traffic from the existing drawbridge to the new bridge began Wednesday night with the first cars traveling the new span before midnight.

"The opening of this bridge will, for the first time, place two-way traffic — one lane in each direction — on the south side of the causeway from end to end, from the intersection of Shore Road and Mays Landing Road in Somers Point to Bay Avenue in Ocean City," the state DOT said in a news release.

The new twin-span bridges at opposite ends of the causeway are scheduled for completion by Memorial Day 2012.  At that time, the new causeway is expected to be fully opened with two newly constructed travel lanes in each direction, according to the DOT.

The DOT called Thursday's bridge opening a milestone in a six-year project that includes the following benchmarks:

• Construction on the Route 52 causeway replacement project began in October 2006 with a $145 million contract to replace the middle 1.2 miles of the 76-year-old causeway from Elbow Island to Garret’s Island. Work was completed in summer 2009.
• The $251 million ongoing contract to complete the causeway and replace two lift bridges began in September 2009.
• The southbound half of the new fixed-span bridge over Beach Thorofare into Ocean City was opened in May 2011.
• Work on the visitors center, fishing piers and other amenities will be completed by the end of 2012, with minimal impact to motorists on the causeway.

Real time travel and construction information is available online at 511nj.org