Two pieces of recent Federal bills have registered some important boons for Long Beach Island's most important infrastructure projects. Federal stimulus money has allocated $12 million for causeway work and a separate bill has authorized $11 million dollars for beach replenishment.
Bridges
The bridge money will be used for temporary repairs to the Doriand J. Henderson bridge on Route 72. Plans are in place for the permanent reconstruction to begin in 2014 but there is a strong need to begin some much needed repairs before reconstruction takes place. Clearly the money is a win for keeping the bridge in good repair and for having some money flowing into the local economy. Recent work on the beach munitions reclamation has had a noticeable positive effect on local island businesses. Bridge work and the local jobs it will create will bring more of the same.
The repairs will focus on resurfacing and general repairs to the deck of the bridge. The project is set to begin in September and last two months, according to the state Department of Transportation. The planned reconstruction will see the building of new bridges and will replace the older structures. It is estimated the cost of that will be 250 million dollars.
Beaches and other Funds
The money for the replenishment of the beach will allow the ongoing work to continue to move forward. The money for this project is part of an appropriations bill that includes some other money that will benefit LBI. Close to a million dollars has been allocated for dredging the Barnegat Bay portion of the Intracoastal Waterway. Barnegat Inlet dredging will also be done with an additional $427,000 appropriation.