Cape May Canal Bridge stuck closed ???

A friend of mine at work was telling me that the Canal bridge has been closed since 10am Saturday morning. Is this true? And what is the problem?

orig.canal.super wrote:A friend of mine at work was telling me that the Canal bridge has been closed since 10am Saturday morning. Is this true? And what is the problem?

Maybe it stays closed for the winter season like a small RVRR bridge in sayerville does. Don't quote me, but thats how it makes sense to me.

Maybe it stays closed for the winter season like a small RVRR bridge in sayerville does. Don't quote me, but thats how it makes sense to me.

The Cape May Canal is part of the intercoastal waterway. It can't be closed for the winter.

Since it is on the Intracoastal Waterway, it definitely needs to have a bridge tender present whenever it is closed, and must open on signal. Perhaps it is undergoing maintenance, see below:

Bridges.

For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 CFR part 117 as follows:

PART 117--DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 117 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 49 CFR 1.46; 33 CFR 1.05-1(g); Section 117.255 also issued under authority of Pub. L. 102587, 106 Stat. 5039.

2. In ([Section] 117.733 add a new paragraph (k) to read as follows:

[Section] 117.733 -- New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway.

* * * * *

(k) The draw of Cape May Canal Railroad Bridge across Cape May Canal, mile 115.1, at Cape May shall operate as follows:

(1) The draw shall be maintained in the open position; the draw may close only for the crossing of trains and maintenance of the bridge. When the draw is closed for a train crossing a bridge tender shall be present to reopen the draw after the train has cleared the bridge. When the draw is closed for maintenance a bridge tender shall be present to open the draw upon signal.

(2) Train service generally operates as follows (please contact Cape May Seashore Lines for current train schedules):

(i) Winter (generally December through March): In general, there is no train service, therefore the bridge is unmanned and placed in the full open position.

(ii) Spring (generally April through May and Fall (generally September through November): Generally weekend service only: Friday through Sunday train service starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday the bridge generally unmanned and in the open position.

(iii) Summer Service (generally June through August): Daily train service starting at 10 a.m. and ending 7:30 p.m.

(3) When a vessel approaches the drawbridge with the draw in the open position, the vessel shall give the opening signal. If no acknowledgement is received within 30 seconds, the vessel may proceed, with caution, through the open draw. When the draw is open and will be closing promptly, the drawbridge will generally signal using sound signals or radio telephone.

(4) Opening of the draw span may be delayed for ten minutes after a signal to open except as provide in (117.31(b). However, if a train is moving toward the bridge and has crossed the home signal for the bridge before the signal requesting opening of the bridge is given, the train may continue across the bridge and must clear the bridge interlocks as soon as possible in order to prevent unnecessary delays in the opening of the draw.

Dated: July 23, 2001.

Thad W. Allen,

Vice Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 01-19042 Filed 7-30-01; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-15-P

33 CFR Part 117; [CGD05-01-007]; RIN 2115-AE47

Document freg000020010731dx7v0000i

JLo wrote:

Maybe it stays closed for the winter season like a small RVRR bridge in sayerville does. Don't quote me, but thats how it makes sense to me.

The Cape May Canal is part of the intercoastal waterway. It can't be closed for the winter.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that...

There's nothing about the bridge in the current (12/7/04) Notice to Mariners from the Coast Guard 5th district.

sullivan1985 wrote:

orig.canal.super wrote:A friend of mine at work was telling me that the Canal bridge has been closed since 10am Saturday morning. Is this true? And what is the problem?

Maybe it stays closed for the winter season like a small RVRR bridge in sayerville does. Don't quote me, but thats how it makes sense to me.

I think you are referring to the Raritan River Railroad Bridge (RRRR), not RVRR.

transit383 wrote:

sullivan1985 wrote:

orig.canal.super wrote:A friend of mine at work was telling me that the Canal bridge has been closed since 10am Saturday morning. Is this true? And what is the problem?

Maybe it stays closed for the winter season like a small RVRR bridge in sayerville does. Don't quote me, but thats how it makes sense to me.

I think you are referring to the Raritan River Railroad Bridge (RRRR), not RVRR.

yeah, that was is... there was a post about it here not to long ago..

It was the Canal bridge becuase the guy who told me saw it from the Seashore Road Bridge. He went down to see the train and no train. On Sunday and Monday it was still closed with no operator in sight.

There is an intresting story to that brigde, told to me by one of the guys who was working on it over the summer of 2003.

That bridge was origanally some where else on the PRR system and was 2 tracks. They cut the bridge down the middle and trucked or barged (Can't remember which, down to cape may and installed it at its current position.

Apparantly the bridge is undergoing maintenance. From the CMSL website:

INFORMATION
Updated on 11/13/04

Santa Express trains are now running.

NOTICE: Schedule change for the
Santa Express!

For the remainder of the 2004 operating season the Santa Express will operate only between Cape May Court House and Cold Spring Village. The Santa Express will not operate into Cape May City. This is due to rehabilitation work on the Canal Movable Bridge.

>>>it was still closed with no operator in sight<<<

Did he look inside the building to see if an operator was there? My very vague recollection that someone could be in there without being seen, from operating the speeder over the bridge a couple and three years ago.

The canal bridge has no operator. It's operated by the train crew.

The Coast Guard rules require that if the bridge is in the closed position (good for trains, bad for boats), that it open on signal for vessal passage. Fine that under normal operations, crews close it for trains, and immediately reopen it after the train clears it, but the reports here indicate that the bridge recently has been left in the closed postion. So unless the railroad has a recently received and as yet unpublished waiver, it needs to have an operator present to meet the Coast Guard regulation.

Given the termination of CMSL service north of Cape May City, perhaps the bridge is actually "open "for boats, but "closed" for trains?