By MICHAEL MILLERStaff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Tuesday, January 31, 2006
 Traffic tie-ups into O.C. worry city's neighbors

When the state closes a bridge, it opens a detour. That's what motorists are hoping the state Department of Transportation will keep in mind this summer now that two lanes of the Route 52 causeway have been closed permanently.

Local officials are coming to grips with the new traffic reality surrounding Ocean City. Its busiest road will be bottlenecked indefinitely until the state builds a new causeway — slated to open in 2011 or later.

In the meantime, they have asked the state to look outside Ocean City for ways to ease what is sure to be a traffic snarl for many summers to come.

And officials are not just talking about the four roads leading into Ocean City, but the dozens of arteries leading to and from Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Even Woodbine expects to see an increase in gridlock this summer as motorists use alternate shore routes such as Route 550, Mayor William Pikolycky said.

Cape May County has scheduled a transportation conference for Feb. 28. The focus of that meeting will be on projects in northern Cape May County.

County Engineer Dale Foster said the county has not prioritized its wish list. But if it did, the first issue would be better signs directing weary motorists to alternate shorebound routes such as Ocean Drive.

The second priority would be building a southbound exit at mile marker 20 of the Garden State Parkway in Seaville. Now, there is only a northbound exit and southbound onramp. Adding this ramp would take much of the local pressure off Roosevelt Boulevard and Exit 25, Foster said.

Local officials gave the state a smorgasbord of suggestions.

Cape May County freeholders Friday called on Gov. Jon Corzine to address the region's ailing transportation network.

“Our neighboring coastal states have made substantial improvement in providing better access to their resort communities, whereas New Jersey has only allowed theirs to fall in a state of disrepair,” Freeholder Director Dan Beyel wrote in a letter to the governor.

Freeholders passed a resolution calling on the state to conduct a traffic-management analysis outlining the impact the Route 52 lane closures will have on the region.

The county also wants to make use of the unused middle lane of the causeway. New lights would be installed allowing two lane entry or exit depending on need. This is similar to traffic patterns over the Walt Whitman Bridge.

“We believe it would be fairly inexpensive to do,” Foster said.

Utility lines are in place. The state would have to restripe the road — again — and add lane lights that police could change at will during the day.

Foster said the city could change the lanes easily to accommodate the rush of traffic leaving the beach after a thunderstorm or a special event such as Night in Venice.

The state intends to lengthen the southbound offramp at Exit 25 by Memorial Day to prevent exiting traffic from backing up dangerously onto the highway. This is a nightly occurrence now.

While Ocean City Mayor Bud Knight is resistant to the idea, Foster said he would like to open Gardens Parkway to truck traffic, even if it is limited to certain hours of the day. Gardens Parkway is a county road but the city banned truck traffic off the Ocean City-Longport Bridge to honor Gardens residents' concerns about damage to their homes from truck vibration.

Foster said the new road bed reduced or eliminated vibration from heavy trucks. Pile-driving cranes and other oversized vehicles are banned from the Garden State Parkway. Those on Absecon Island must make an arduous detour through Mays Landing and down Route 50 to get into Ocean City instead of just hopping over the Ocean City-Longport Bridge.

O.C. lifesaving station likely to be moved to beach

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Friday, January 27, 2006

A divided City Council plans to let a developer move a historic Fourth Street landmark to the beach to make room for three duplex condominiums.

Under an ordinance council considered Thursday, Pansini Custom Design Associates of Newtown, Pa., would pay the city $300,000 along with all costs to move the former lifesaving station from Fourth Street to the Sixth Street Boardwalk.

Four councilmen — a slim majority of the seven-member body — said the move was in the best interest of city taxpayers and voters who last year rejected a proposal to borrow $3 million to buy this converted four-bedroom home outright.

“Taxpayers 3-to-1 said no to the referendum,” Councilman Frank McCall said. “I don't think we have a willing buyer.”

Instead, council apparently plans to accept Pansini's offer to move the station at its own expense and give the city $300,000 toward renovating this former base for island lifeguards.

Councilman Jody Alessandrine, who expressed the dissenting view on council, likened the gift to a bribe.

“By accepting this gift, we'll be showing favoritism. It is essentially bribery,” he said.

Council President Jack Thomas said the deal was unseemly and gave the impression the council would overlook the city's rules for the right price.

“Do the citizens of Ocean City really want their leaders to go down this path? I surely hope not,” he said.

Council placed two conditions on the deal's acceptance: The city must get coastal permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection to move the station to the skateboard park on the Boardwalk; and the move has to be approved by the city's Historic Preservation Commission.

Councilman Gregory Johnson said some who want to keep the station on Fourth Street have approached his children about the issue and made threats against him. He represented the deciding vote after voting down an earlier resolution to move the station.

“I draw the line when I have to hide my truck to keep it from being scratched,” he said.

According to Alessandrine, the city spent $80,000 in legal fees fighting Pansini's plan to demolish at least part of the building to make room for condominiums. Pansini bought the landmark from Elizabeth Sheehan for about $730,000 in 1999. Her family lived in this home with the distinctive watchtower for years.

It served as a lifesaving station from 1885 to 1910 and remained with the U.S. Coast Guard until it passed to private ownership in 1930. It has been vacant — and visibly deteriorating — since Sheehan's sale. The fate of the lifesaving station has emerged as the first issue in the early mayoral campaign.

Thomas noted that mayoral candidate and lawyer Salvatore Perillo represented Pansini in the lifesaving station's court case. McCall already filed for office. Alessandrine is expected to announce his candidacy today. Mayor Bud Knight is not running for re-election.

Councilman Ronald Denney said the offer by Pansini was the result of the city's hardscrabble negotiation rather than the developer's generosity.

“There's no bribe. There's negotiation,” Denney said. “This gift is a pittance to what he's going to make. He's not giving us anything. He's responding to our negotiations.”

Council will conduct a public hearing in February before taking a final vote. Given the landmark's sustained interest what promises to be a lively mayoral race, no single vote could put to rest the controversy over this two-story building at Fourth and Atlantic.

Ocean City bridges reopen with fewer lanes, greater worries

By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Press of Atlantic city
Published: Saturday, January 21, 2006

The Route 52 causeway reopened Friday morning after repairs shut down the Ocean City-to-Somers Point span for a week.

But concerns over the bridges on the causeway and ensuing traffic issues are still going strong.

Last Saturday, the state Department of Transportation temporarily closed the causeway —also known as the Ninth Street causeway.

The state also announced that the four-lane causeway would be reduced to two traffic lanes in an effort to limit weight on two of the causeway's bridges, which are to be replaced eventually.

The closing of two lanes will likely lead to heavy traffic congestion in the summer.

In Somers Point, the traffic circle leading into Ocean City can become a nightmare for motorists.

“In the summer, it's going to be brutal,” said Patrice Warley, a server at the Point Diner, just off the circle in Somers Point. “It's not going to be pretty.”

Elected officials and business owners will meet with DOT representatives Monday about their concerns.

“When you estimate the (number of) individuals in the summer months who go in and out of Ocean City, you have some real traffic hazards as well as some safety concerns,” said Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Atlantic, Cumberland.

“We could have some serious consequences if you don't deal with this properly, both from a business standpoint and a safety standpoint”

The state is trying to prolong the lifespan of two dilapidated bridges on the Route 52 causeway.

DOT Spokesman Brendan Gill said the state is not planning to close the causeway again for additional work unless an emergency situation should arise.

Earlier this week, the state painted new road stripes on the bridges over Elbow Thorofare and Rainbow Channel to limit the travel lanes.

The weight of trucks traveling the causeway is now limited to 4 tons, and road signs detour truck drivers with big rigs.

NJ Transit buses will be exempt from the weight restrictions, a state spokesperson has said.

The state intends to build new bridges at the site, but efforts were recently delayed.

In December, the state rejected bids for the first-phase of a two-part project. Although $150 million was budgeted, the bids received came in almost $100 million more than expected.

The high bids will delay construction for at least six months.

The project as designed included two 2.5-mile bridges over the Great Egg Harbor Bay. The two-phase plan also includes a walkway, fishing pier, boat ramp, parking lot, a new Ocean City Welcome Center and the removal of the Somers Point traffic circle, among other things.

2-lane closure begins today along Route 52 causeway

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Saturday, January 14, 2006

OCEAN CITY-Two lane closures on the main entrance to Ocean City will be permanent, the state Department of Transportation said Friday.

For Ocean City and Somers Point, that means almost-certain gridlock for summers to come.

"Somers Point will be backed up to Route 9. The traffic circle is going to become a parking lot," Cape May County Engineer Dale Foster said.

The state is trying to prolong the lifespan of two dilapidated bridges on the Route 52 causeway by limiting the weight on them, spokeswoman Erin Phalon said. This is the busiest by far of four routes into Ocean City.

State workers today will barricade the causeway while repair crews restripe this four-lane road and shore up the railings. The road will be closed through 6 a.m. Wednesday. But the lane closures will remain.

Ocean City police Chief Robert Blevin said ambulances will be able to use a berm to get unimpeded to Shore Memorial Hospital, even on the busiest summer day.

Meanwhile, trucks heavier than 4 tons will be banned from this road. NJ Transit buses will be exempt from the weight restriction, Blevin said.

Cape May County traffic will fare no better. With heavy trucks detoured to the 34th Street Bridge, Roosevelt Boulevard in Upper Township will face more logjams, too, Foster said.

Blevin said the city will study its traffic history to come up with ways to reduce congestion on the busiest travel days.

"We have serious concerns," Community Services Director Michael Dattilo said. "Their whole project schedule over multiple years called for just one off-peak season of one-lane traffic in each direction."

On Friday, the DOT's Phalon confirmed the road will be cut to two lanes for good.

"It is safe to drive on. But if you ask me if there are problems with the bridge, yes, they need to be replaced," she said.

The state is taking a second look at the new twin bridges it hopes to build to replace the dilapidated causeway. The state rejected bids for the project in December after they came in far over the $150 million budgeted for the first half of construction.

The bid rejection postponed the start of construction by at least six months. The state DOT had no better timetable on when the project might be rebid.

City officials were discouraged by the news.

"They committed to monitoring these bridges through the construction and do what they had to do to keep them open," Dattilo said.

The state even relocated the new bridges farther from the old causeway to reduce the likelihood of damage to the old road from vibration or other construction. The state closed the old Ocean City Longport Bridge permanently shortly after construction began on the new Ocean City-Longport Bridge in 2000.

On Friday, county crews helped the city mark detour routes and post lighted message boards. The Garden State Parkway also noted the detour. Speed-limit warnings were placed on Bay and West avenues for motorists tempted to try to catch up on lost time created by the detour.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:
MMiller@pressofac.com