Much to the delight of residents in Atlantic City’s Venice Park neighborhood, the Ohio Avenue Bridge over the Venice Lagoon, which has been under reconstruction, has reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic ahead of schedule. Reconstruction of “Second Bridge” as it’s known throughout the community began in August 2023, with repair work at the time expected to take up to two years. That repair work consisted of rebuilding the entire bridge, replacing deteriorating timber pile bents with concrete filled steel pipes. Emergency substructure repairs were undertaken in 2021 to stabilize the bridge until replacement. A shared bike lane is also included in the newly constructed bridge, along with sidewalks on each side of the bridge and steel sheet pile bulkheads at the base.
“I made a commitment to the residents of Venice Park that First Bridge and Second Bridge would be fully reconstructed during my first, full four-year term and I was able to deliver on my word,” said City of Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Sr. “While prior administration’s simply put band-aids on these bridges, we rebuilt them from the ground up, ensuring durability for decades to come. I thank the Venice Park community for your patience during both bridge projects. Despite the inconvenience of detours, they never once complained.”
“This is one of those projects that shows Mayor Small cares deeply about the quality of life of the residents of Atlantic City,” said City of Atlantic City Engineer Uzo Ahiarakwe. “And It says a lot about the contractors and engineers involved in this project when we can come under budget and finish a two-year project in a year-and-a-half. We also have to credit the Venice Park community with the success of this project because of their cooperation and feedback.”
Built in 1969, “Second Bridge” was replaced in stages using a single alternating lane of traffic with temporary traffic signals. At no point during reconstruction was the bridge completely closed. The $6.85 Million to repair the bridge came from American Rescue Plan funds and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), at no cost to the taxpayers. The design engineer for the ‘Second Bridge’ project is French and Parrello Associates, construction management and inspection was handled by Remington & Vernick Engineers, and the Contractor is South State, Inc. In November 2022, reconstruction of the Ohio Avenue Bridge over Penrose Canal in Venice Park, known as “First Bridge” in the community, was completed after a year of work.
