By:Jeff Lipton
After almost three years of construction, workers will remove concrete road barriers from the Atlantic Beach Bridge in June, making the crossing a six-lane highway once again.
Since the summer of 1998, two lanes of the bridge span were closed , snarling traffic especially during the summer months when beach clubs are in full swing. The rehabilitation of the bridge, which was originally expected to end last December, is about a year behind schedule. As Atlantic Beach residents and beach club owners were bracing for another summer of bridge construction, the state Department of Transportation, which has been in charge of the rehabilitation, announced that all six lanes will be fully operational next month.
And even after the entire span is opened to traffic next month, bridge workers will continue to work on the underbelly of the bridge.
"Yes, the barriers will be removed," said Charles Maass, the engineer in charge of the bridge construction for the state DOT. "If work goes on below nobody cares."
The $24 million reconstruction project has consisted of rebuilding the concrete deck, which has meant shutting down two lanes at a time. The entire span has also been painted and submarine cables, the electrical cables which power the bridge in order to move it up and down, are also being replaced, Maass said. Also being replaced is the bridge's fender system to protect the bridge in case a barge runs into it, Maass said. The entire project is expected to be completed in October 2001, DOT officials said.
Since the project first began, the cost has risen $4 million. About 80 percent of the entire $24 million project is coming from federal funds and 20 percent from the Nassau County Bridge Authority, whose sole job it is to operate the Atlantic Beach Bridge.
One of the primary reasons for the delay is that bridge workers discovered that the cables underwater were encased in a three-foot layer of stone. Special equipment was needed to remove the stone and required the state to seek an environmental permit, which took some time to obtain, Maass said. Also painting the bridge took longer than anticipated with all the inclement weather.
"The problem with painting is that if it is a bad winter and it is cold, you can't paint when temperatures drop below a certain level," said James Gary Connors, a former village trustee who worked on the bridge.
"Oh, God, after all these years, I love it," Connors said of the long-awaiting opening. "I'm kind of disgusted that it has not been opened before this, but the weather has a lot to do with everything we do."
Stephen Mahler, Village of Atlantic Beach mayor, said motorists who use the bridge would complain about congestion from time to time. "Until the [summer] season is over it's an inconvenience," the mayor said. When the bridge is lifted in the morning rush hour to allow boats to pass, it backs up westbound traffic about eight blocks, heading out of Atlantic Beach, to Genesee Boulevard, Mahler said.
"It causes a major traffic jam," he said, adding that water traffic takes precedence over vehicular traffic. "It does create havoc when the bridge is up." The bridge is lifted once every half hour in the morning to allow for boat traffic to pass underneath.
"The beach clubs complain a lot during the summertime," Mahler said. The beach club season runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
"That's good," Madeline Labate, manager of Clearwater Beach Club, said when she heard that construction on the top of the bridge will end shortly. "The traffic has been horrendous in July and August. The people have been aggravated all the time when they come in."
Jack Hubbard, manager of Sun and Surf Beach Club, said, "I think it's great that the bridge has been fixed. They did a great job of keeping it open and keeping traffic flowing during construction. I was very impressed with the way they handled the situation," said Hubbard, who has had to traverse the bridge more than once a day when the club is opened.
"I think it's great that they are opening it, but I never saw any problems, though."
Jack Munger, general manager of Catalina Beach Club, said he heard more complaints from his club members about the bridge before construction began, when all six lanes were open. "It's very strange and it didn't make much sense to me," he said.
