Workers put the finishing touches on the Weymouth Road bridge over Deep Run which opened on Wednesday, Feb. 8. HAMILTON TOWNSHIP - Motorists who have endured a 10-mile-plus detour since late last summer were happy to hear these words on Wednesday, Feb. 8: “It’s open.”

Atlantic County officials reopened the Weymouth Road (Rt. 559) bridge over Deep Run at 9 a.m., according to Linda Gilmore, Atlantic County public information officer.

The bridge’s opening means traffic can flow from the Black Horse Pike all the way south to Mays Landing once again.

Construction on the $1.3 million temporary steel truss bridge began in December and was ahead of its Feb. 23 scheduled completion date.

The original bridge was closed in August after Tropical Storm Irene punished the area with a deluge of rain that capped off the area’s two rainiest months in history.

Federal, state and local representatives inspected the bridge shortly after Irene went through the area and deemed it a total loss. They said damage to the substructure and approach roadway caused the bridge to fail.

The temporary bridge is eligible for full reimbursement from the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency Relief Program that required completion within 180 days of the disaster, Gilmore said.

The temporary bridge can be stored for later use if necessary and has a life expectancy is 7 to 10 years, she said.

"The temporary bridge allows us to reopen the roadway much sooner than we would have. We had to wait for construction and permitting of the permanent replacement," said County Executive Dennis Levinson. "We worked quickly to take advantage of the federal program. And to our credit we met the deadline with a few weeks to spare."
A permanent bridge over Deep Run is still part of the long-term plan, and that structure would be eligible for 80 percent reimbursement through the same federal program. The permanent bridge's use expectancy would be 75 years.
Post-Irene inspections identified 12 bridges and several roadways in Atlantic County in need of repairs at an estimated cost of $6 million, Gilmore said. County officials have been working since the storm to assess damages and secure funding.
"Area residents and businesses have been extremely patient and cooperative in the aftermath of Irene,” Levenson said. “We're as anxious as they are to restore our infrastructure to normal."