Corson's Inlet Bridge Reopens After Emergency Repair

The Corson's Inlet Bridge reopened to car traffic on Monday morning, about two weeks after an SUV crashed through the railing and forced the temporary closing of the main route between Strathmere and Ocean City.

The repair work is complete with 40 feet of railing replaced. Allied Painting Inc. of Cherry Hill was contracted to complete the repair, which was expected to be finished by Saturday.

The commission had awarded an emergency contract that called for $1,000 per day in penalties for delays beyond Saturday. Cape May County Administrator Stephen O'Connor said Monday morning that the Bridge Commission will decide at its Thursday meeting if it will enforce the penalty.

"Actually, it's hard to blame anyone for the timing—only that the communications were a little fogged up," the Strathmere Improvement Association wrote in its e-mail newsletter delivered this morning. "We saw activity on the bridge Wednesday morning, and then nothing until Saturday. Turns out you can't buy those posts and railings—they had to be fabricated in Allied Painting's shop in Cherry Hill and it took until Friday. They then worked all day Saturday and Sunday (into the dark Sunday), completing it and passing inspection this morning."

The bridge had been closed since a Feb. 1 crash by an SUV driven by an 18-year-old Sea Isle City resident who attends Ocean City High School. Nicole Crudele and her twin brother, Michael, survived the crash with minor injuries.

The county last year postponed replacing the rusted railings for the entire length of the bridge when bids came in at $3.5 million—$1.5 million above what the county anticipated the project would cost. The railings are more than 60 years old.

The Bridge Commission is scheduled to solicit for new bids on Thursday.