Courtesy Downbeach Express/Margate Bridge.
MARGATE - Repair work on the Downbeach Express/Margate bridge will impact some boaters for three weeks after Thanksgiving.
The movable bridge span over Beach Thorofare will undergo repairs for three weeks, Nov. 28 to Dec. 16. Structural repairs of certain bridge members means the bridge cannot open for large boat traffic during this time. The waterway will be open for passage of smaller boats that do not require a bridge opening.
According to David M. Goddard of Ole Hansen & Sons Inc., there will be no impact to vehicular traffic using the privately owned toll road during the project. The Downbeach Express causeway connects Northfield with Margate and is a main access point for residents and visitors to Absecon Island.
"It only impacts large boats and marine equipment," he said.
Goddard said the company delayed the project as long as possible past the summer boating season.
"The U.S. Coast Guard has been notified and is in the process of issuing a Notice to Mariners, which is standard protocol when there is a temporary deviation in the use of the waterway so that boats using the channel will know in advance of this restriction."
