'Deficient' Bridge Opens As West Deptford Family Attempts To Cross: Report

LOWER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A West Deptford family came away bruised but not seriously hurt after a bridge that has been described as “structurally deficient” opened while they were driving over it.

Terence and Jackie Naphys were in the middle of driving over the Middle Thorofare Bridge when the drawbridge portion of the bridge opened on Aug. 1, the Cape May County Herald reports. Their car fell onto the bridge deck below. The car was damaged and is still being evaluated, but none of the four people in the car was seriously hurt.

The Cape May County Bridge Commission is investigating the incident, but was unable to tell the newspaper what might have gone wrong. The family has also filed a police report.

If nothing else, the bridge appears to be in desperate need of rehabilitation. In a 2015 grant application for nearly $300 million in bridge repairs, the bridge was given a rating of 7 out of 100 for safety. The other two bridges were given a 46.8 and 47.3, respectively, on the same scale. The application describes the bridge as both “structurally deficient” and “functionally obsolete.”

It was the first bridge to be opened after the establishment of the Cape May County Bridge Commission in 1934, according to the county website. The bridge opened in June of 1940 to connect Cape May to Wildwood Crest.