Bridge between Wildwood Crest and Cape May closed due to engine failure, could take weeks to repair
WILWOOD CREST, NJ (CBS) – The Middle Thorofare/Two Mile Bridge, which connects Wildwood Crest and Diamond Beach in Cape May, New Jersey, will be closed for the foreseeable future.
Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera posted on Facebook around 6:15 a.m. Sunday that the bridge was closed to vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians due to an “engine failure that could not be repaired.”
In a statement released Sunday afternoon, the Cape May Bridge Commission said the bridge experienced a “total failure of the drive shaft motor that was used to open the bridge on demand” at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. Testing determined that “the motor was inoperable and beyond repair,” the commission said.
The mayor said there is currently no date for the bridge to reopen, and that it could be closed for “an extended period of time.” On social media, the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office said “major mechanical repairs” were needed to resolve the issue.
The Cape May Bridge Commission stressed the seriousness of the problem, saying the goal of replacing the motor could take “several weeks.”
The bridge will remain in the raised position so that commercial ships can continue to pass.
According to Cape May County, more than 560,000 people crossed the Middle Thorofare Bridge in 2023, which also provides access to New Jersey’s largest commercial fishing port. “The decision to keep the bridge open supports the county’s second-largest industry and hundreds of jobs,” a county spokesperson told CBS News Philadelphia.
Drivers heading south toward Cape May, Lower Township and the Garden State Parkway, or north toward Wildwood Crest, will need to take alternate routes.
