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Beesley's Point Bridge in Great Egg Harbor, New Jersey

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For those who take the Garden State Parkway down to Cape May, you may notice a bridge close by as you cross the Great Egg Harbor as you cross out of Atlantic County. That is the Beesley's Point Bridge, which connects Somers Point with Cape May County on US 9. Currently, the bridge has been closed down to vehicles due to unsafe traffic with said traffic routed on the nearby Garden State Parkway, but there are some quirks that makes this crossing a treasure. On a mild, yet windy February weekend in 2005, I had the unique opportunity of taking a walk down Beesley's Point Bridge and discovered some of the quirks of this private tolled crossing.

US 9 guide sign mentioning the weight limit of the bridge. Judging by what I saw from the bridge, that may be pushing it.

Looking southbound on the bridge. There are also a number of ads that dot the landscape of the bridge. I wonder how much one of the ads costs.

A jersey barrier serves as a blockade to most traffic at the south end of the bridge.

More space for advertisements.

A view looking north into Atlantic County.

Now looking north on the bridge, here's a good view of Great Egg Harbor and Somers Point. You can see some of the despair that the bridge is in. In other spots, you can see gaps in the pavement so deep you are actually looking at the water. I am not sure how effective those ads are on a closed bridge.

The toll booth for the Beesley's Point Bridge is in the middle of the bridge. The car you see is likely owned the bridge tender. Seems that the company that owns the bridge is still employing bridge tenders while the bridge is closed.

The Beesley's Point Bridge is pretty close to the span for the Garden State Parkway. That's Ocean City, NJ, in the distance.

As the Beesley's Point Bridge is a private bridge, the State of New Jersey is not in charge of maintaining it. The changeover is marked here.



A hole in the pavement.

Another hole in the pavement. Hello, water!

There is a power plant nearby along the southern shores of Great Egg Harbor. The curbs for the bridge are made of wood.
Signage listing the toll schedule for the Beesley's Point Bridge. If a passenger car were to take the nearby Garden State Parkway, only a 35 cent toll would be levied.

A old sign photo taken by Alex Nitzman of AARoads, taken in June 1997.
 As of the time of this blog post (August 16, 2016), the bridge is undergoing demolition. I had another chance to visit the Beesleys Point Bridge in December 2010. I don't believe that the bridge had ever reopened after my 2005 visit. Here are a few photos from that visit.



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Location: 9 Harbor Rd, Marmora, NJ 08223, USA

Comments

Anonymous said…
ARE YOU ALOUD TO CRAB ON THERE AND IS IT SAFE FOR A SOON TO BE 3 YEAT OLD
7:58 PM
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