Cape May County Reopens Townsends Inlet Bridge

In Cape May County, the newly rebuilt Townsends Inlet Bridge, which connects Avalon and Sea Isle City, is finally open as of 6PM. Thursday.

County Engineer Robert Church says the connection closed nine months ago and the reopening was delayed by two months. But he says it's replacing the previous 80-year-old span.

"This was the the big capital improvement that we had to do because of the structural condition of the bridge," he explained.

"It was built during the Depression era, so you know it sort of reflects some of the work projects that were done then."

The reconstruction was delayed in part by what the county termed a "challenging marine environment."

The bridge is a key component along the Ocean Drive Causeway.

Church says without the links between the two islands, "there's a detour of about 17 miles to get from Avalon to Sea lsle City. So it's an inconvenience to the traveling public and also for emergency services."