By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
BEESLEYS POINT – An extraordinary view of Great Egg Harbor Bay that could once only be glimpsed can now be savored, as the New Jersey Turnpike Authority quietly unlocked the gates of a bike and pedestrian lane on the multimillion-dollar Garden State Parkway bridge.
The 10-foot multiuse path was completed along with the replacement of the southbound bridge, which replaced a 1954 span described as structurally and functionally obsolete with a wider and larger bridge.
But the bridge was completed more than a year ago. Until last week, the gates were locked with a sign at the front of the ramp stating there would be no access during construction.
Members of Upper Township Committee had asked repeatedly that the bridge be opened, even if it were just on the south side of the bridge. On the morning of July 8, without fanfare, the gates were unlocked and opened. Township engineer Paul Dietrich said the Turnpike Authority did not want to have an event marking the moment, likely out of concern for gatherings during the pandemic.
Upper Township Mayor Rich Palombo had mentioned the July 8 opening at previous meetings, but was not certain it would take place until he received a text that the lanes were open.
“I was probably one of the first ones to ride my bike over,” he said. “There’s a great view at the top.”
The length is just over a mile and a half, from the ramp near the Beesleys Point Beach to a parking area near the Great Egg Harbor Toll Plaza on the Somers Point side. A dotted yellow line divides the path into two lanes. A concrete barrier and tall steel fence decorated with steel silhouettes of gulls separates the walkway from the cars zooming south on the parkway, while on the water side, a line of thick 42-inch concrete parapet topped with a steel rail allows most people unobstructed views.
According to Palombo, Upper Township emergency responders have been given keys to gates set along the route, which will allow ambulances and other emergency vehicles to get close to sections of the bridge while keeping pedestrians from getting close to the traffic lanes.
“It was pretty good planning,” he said.
On a recent late afternoon, there were a few bicyclists taking advantage of the new route, and some residents and families strolling and enjoying the view of the wave runners and boaters below. Previously, to reach Atlantic County from Upper Township without a car (or a boat) would require a trip through Ocean City or out to Tuckahoe where Route 50 crosses a narrow section of the Tuckahoe River.
Lexi Mealey and Carolyn Reade, both Upper Township residents, said they had been waiting to get out on the walkway.
“I’m not joking, we’ve been counting down the years,” Reade said.
“The view is awesome,” Reade said. Mealey added that the noise from the traffic was louder than she expected.
Palombo expected the opening to take place in April, and then in May, but that was delayed until June and again until July.
“They didn’t want to take a risk of too many people coming together,” he said.
Eventually, he would like to have a ceremony marking the opening, he said, possibly as part of a grand opening of county-funded improvements around the bayside beach. The project is billed as a gateway to Cape May County and will include new benches and more.
There is now a wide dirt parking area serving the beach and boat ramp, and now the walkway entrance.
“I think it’s a great additional place to do some outdoor activity,” Palombo said. “We’re super happy it’s open.”
Somers Point officials had asked to keep the gates closed out of safety concerns, not over COVID-19, but because of traffic.
On the Atlantic County side, bicyclist can use the old bridge that led to the now-demolished Beesleys Point Bridge to reach Route 9. But they will have to pass parkway Exit 29, where northbound cars enter Somers Point.
“I’m still concerned with the approach to the parkway. I have been since the outset of plans with the bridge,” said Somers Point Mayor Jack Glasser. He does not believe the area is conducive to bikes or pedestrians, and would like to see an extension of the bike path system to include the area.
“We’re still going back and forth with the Turnpike Authority,” he said.
From the crown of the bridge, the hulking mass of the now-idled BL England power plant stands to the left, and marshy Drag Island is to the right, with the west side of the bay spread before you and the confluence of the Tuckahoe, Great Egg Harbor and Middle rivers in the distance.