LBI Causeway Bridge undergoes erosion repairs, post-Sandy

The New Jersey Department of Transportation has mobilized maintenance contractors from IEW Construction Group of Trenton to perform repairs in eight locations along the Route 72 Manahawkin Bay bridges in response to damage that accrued as a result of Superstorm Sandy.

Field investigations and structural evaluations of all of the shore area’s bridges that were set into motion immediately following the storm reported moderate to significant erosion of sand and material surrounding the abutments of the Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge and its corresponding trestle bridges, which connect Stafford Township and Long Beach Island. According to reports, the entire bridge system is still considered structurally sound.

Photo by Jack Reynolds
Contractors work to repair erosion
damage on the Manahawkin Bay bridges,
following Hurricane Sandy.

“This type of repair is not by any means a safety hazard,” said Tim Greeley, a spokesman for the DOT. “If there was any safety concern for motorists using the bridge, DOT would close the bridge,” he added.

Loose debris has been removed from the damaged abutments, and stone and sand are being replaced around the structures to fill in. This will provide the necessary stability to prevent any future washout at these locations, Greeley said.

The maintenance repairs began last week and are approximately 40 percent complete. The operation is set to be finished sometime around mid-December.

Greeley was unable to provide an estimated cost for the repairs as many of the DOT’s recent ongoing projects have been based on an emergency response to the storm. Many on-call maintenance contractors kept on hand for these specific purposes have recently made their way to the Jersey Shore, especially farther north, where the damage was more devastating.

Fortunately, the work along the Causeway Bridge is being completed with minimal impact to traffic, as the damage did not structurally affect the bridge deck itself. A few bridge shoulder closings have been necessary in order to set up safe work zones but have not affected any travel lanes in the process.

“This work is necessary, but it’s also preventative for keeping the bridge and maintaining it. Just like anything over time, no matter how well it’s built, a bridge will deteriorate to some extent and will inevitably require some type of repair or replacement,” said Greeley.

According to federal regulations, the Causeway Bridge is considered structurally deficient in terms of age, usage and shore area conditions, which means the highway bridge is inspected at least once a year, if not twice a year. According to officials, any erosion that occurred prior to the storm would have already been repaired.

“A structurally deficient rating by no means determines the bridge is unsafe,” claimed Greeley. “It’s not unexpected to see some type of erosion with what we saw from Hurricane Sandy and the type of storm surge that occurred. It’s our duty and our responsibility to respond to it when that happens and make these types of repairs, so that’s exactly what we’re doing now,” he added.

Plans to build a second bridge for the Island are still thought to begin sometime during the spring of 2013, which Greeley said would help maintain the integrity and safety of the bridge infrastructure. The upcoming project will not only improve safety, but also aid traffic management and traffic flow, and reduce congestion in Stafford and on LBI during the summer months.

This article was published in The SandPaper.