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Asselta seeks local workers for Rt. 52 work
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712, E-Mail/Press of Atlantic City
SOMERS POINT - The new Route 52 causeway will be the most expensive public project in southern New Jersey.
State Sen. Nicholas Asselta said he wants local workers to get a cut of the $300 million contracts.
Asselta told the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday he would press the state to award contracts to New Jersey companies, particularly companies in his 1st District, which includes Atlantic, Cumberland and Cape May counties.
On Tuesday, the state Department of Transportation also announced a new program called "Hyperbuild" that's designed to reduce project time and save money on construction.
Included in the 14 projects unveiled as part of Hyperbuild is the Route 52 causeway project. DOT officials estimate they can cut construction time by 52 months and save $25 million in the process.
The first bids will be awarded in October. Construction on the two-phase project is expected to take about 52 months.
"This is the single, largest (public) project in New Jersey. The most important part is to make sure our people in southern New Jersey do the work," Asselta said. "We don't want some company from out of state hiring out-of-state workers."
Asselta said the state has discretion when awarding contracts.
"We'll be keeping our eyes on this," he said. "You're talking about a four- or five-year project that's employing a lot of people."
The project calls for replacing the ground-level causeway with two parallel bridges stretching from Somers Point to Ocean City. Once the northbound bridge is completed, the state will demolish the old causeway and build the southbound bridge. The 2.5-mile continuous spans will rest atop piers 18 feet above the old causeway with two 55-foot-tall bridges at either end.
The old causeway, built in 1932, consists of a flat roadbed on tidal islands connected by two drawbridges and two fixed bridges. The new span will resemble the elevated highway that connects the Florida Keys.
The state will keep four lanes of traffic open during the busy summer months, but will narrow that to two lanes for days or weeks during the winter.
As part of the project, the state will build a new Ocean City Welcome Center, fishing piers and boat launches to provide access to the Great Egg Harbor Bay. Project Manager Dave Lambert said the bridge is also considered a public park.
"It will be the greatest bridge project created in New Jersey," Lambert said.
He still needs permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard. Already, he has acquired wetlands and CAFRA, or Coastal Area Review Facilities Act, permits.
The project is five times as expensive as the new Ocean City-Longport Bridge. That project faced myriad complications, the biggest of which was the untimely closing of the old bridge in 2001. Pile driving for the new span undermined the old bridge, prompting the state to close it more than a year earlier than expected.
In the event of a similar circumstance, the state has plans to detour traffic, engineer Sylvester Fritz said. The state will make sure the contractor that wins the bid will be able to make quick emergency repairs to the old causeway if the need arises, he said.
Construction is expected to begin as early as next spring.
"They've incorporated most of our ideas and concerns into the project. It's going to be quite a welcome mat for Ocean City," chamber President Joann DelVescio said.
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712, E-Mail/Press of Atlantic City
SOMERS POINT - The new Route 52 causeway will be the most expensive public project in southern New Jersey.
State Sen. Nicholas Asselta said he wants local workers to get a cut of the $300 million contracts.
Asselta told the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday he would press the state to award contracts to New Jersey companies, particularly companies in his 1st District, which includes Atlantic, Cumberland and Cape May counties.
On Tuesday, the state Department of Transportation also announced a new program called "Hyperbuild" that's designed to reduce project time and save money on construction.
Included in the 14 projects unveiled as part of Hyperbuild is the Route 52 causeway project. DOT officials estimate they can cut construction time by 52 months and save $25 million in the process.
The first bids will be awarded in October. Construction on the two-phase project is expected to take about 52 months.
"This is the single, largest (public) project in New Jersey. The most important part is to make sure our people in southern New Jersey do the work," Asselta said. "We don't want some company from out of state hiring out-of-state workers."
Asselta said the state has discretion when awarding contracts.
"We'll be keeping our eyes on this," he said. "You're talking about a four- or five-year project that's employing a lot of people."
The project calls for replacing the ground-level causeway with two parallel bridges stretching from Somers Point to Ocean City. Once the northbound bridge is completed, the state will demolish the old causeway and build the southbound bridge. The 2.5-mile continuous spans will rest atop piers 18 feet above the old causeway with two 55-foot-tall bridges at either end.
The old causeway, built in 1932, consists of a flat roadbed on tidal islands connected by two drawbridges and two fixed bridges. The new span will resemble the elevated highway that connects the Florida Keys.
The state will keep four lanes of traffic open during the busy summer months, but will narrow that to two lanes for days or weeks during the winter.
As part of the project, the state will build a new Ocean City Welcome Center, fishing piers and boat launches to provide access to the Great Egg Harbor Bay. Project Manager Dave Lambert said the bridge is also considered a public park.
"It will be the greatest bridge project created in New Jersey," Lambert said.
He still needs permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard. Already, he has acquired wetlands and CAFRA, or Coastal Area Review Facilities Act, permits.
The project is five times as expensive as the new Ocean City-Longport Bridge. That project faced myriad complications, the biggest of which was the untimely closing of the old bridge in 2001. Pile driving for the new span undermined the old bridge, prompting the state to close it more than a year earlier than expected.
In the event of a similar circumstance, the state has plans to detour traffic, engineer Sylvester Fritz said. The state will make sure the contractor that wins the bid will be able to make quick emergency repairs to the old causeway if the need arises, he said.
Construction is expected to begin as early as next spring.
"They've incorporated most of our ideas and concerns into the project. It's going to be quite a welcome mat for Ocean City," chamber President Joann DelVescio said.
