Chamber Cuts Ribbon on Causeway Welcome Center

 The new Roy Gillian Welcome Center on the Route 52 causeway held a grand opening ceremony 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 20.

The building of the new Welcome Center was part of the $396 million New Jersey Department of Transportation rebuilding of the Route 52 bridges and causeway project.  It is a replica of the early 20th-century Ocean City Yacht Club that was demolished in 1944. It first opened to the public in late May while the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce was completing a transition to the new facility.

In addition to being the central hub of information for all that is Ocean City, the Welcome Center offers an ample amount of parking, access to the pedestrian walkway and one of four fishing piers along the bridge, rest rooms and scenic wrap-around decks on both levels. It is a wonderful new addition for outdoor recreational activities.

Access to the Welcome Center is available in both directions. Heading toward Ocean City, the center is accessible from the causeway’s eastbound lanes. Coming from Ocean City, the center is accessible by passing the Welcome Center in the westbound lanes and making a U-turn into the fishing pier located midway across.

— News release from the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce