History
The Cape May County Bridge Commission was created by the county in 1934 in order to build a series of toll bridges linking the coastal communities of Cape May County. With the creation of this agency, the bridges were to receive federal funding through the New Deal. In 1940, several of the bridges comprising Ocean Drive were built, including the Middle Thorofare Bridge, Grassy Sound Bridge, and Townsends Inlet Bridge. In 1946, the Corsons Inlet Bridge was built and the Ocean City-Longport Bridge, built in 1927, was purchased by the commission, completing the link for the barrier islands between Cape May and Atlantic City.
Along its route, the Ocean Drive followed mostly local roads. The exception was the portion across the Cape May Canal between Cape May Canal and Lower Township, which was initially part of US 9 and Route 4 before becoming US 9 only in 1953 and then Route 109 in the 1970s. By the 1950s and 1960s, most of the remainder of Ocean Drive became part of several county routes. The route between Sunset Beach and Cape May became CR 6 while the spur into Cape May Point became CR 51. Within Cape May, Ocean Drive became CR 26, CR 4, and CR 22 before it joined US 9. Past US 9, it became CR 21 and part of CR 585 before heading through Wildwood Crest and Wildwood along Atlantic Avenue. In North Wildwood, the route became CR 7/CR 585 before turning north into Middle Township and following CR 18/CR 585. Ocean Drive turned north and followed CR 30 through Stone Harbor and Avalon and CR 19 through Sea Isle City and into Ocean City. In Ocean City, Ocean Drive continued north from CR 19 onto Wesley Avenue and Gardens Parkway. Continuing into Atlantic County, the route headed east on CR 20 and entered Longport, where it became CR 29 through Longport, Margate City, and into Ventnor City. North of the Dorset Avenue intersection, Ocean Drive was locally maintained. In 1969, the CR 20 portion of Ocean Drive in Atlantic County became Route 152 and in 1971, the portion of Ocean Drive leading into North Wildwood became a part of Route 147. CR 585 was later removed from Ocean Drive and the remaining county routes in Cape May and Atlantic County were given numbers in the 600-series. As a result, CR 6 became CR 606, CR 51 became CR 651, CR 26 became CR 626, CR 4 became CR 604, CR 22 became CR 622, CR 21 and CR 7 became CR 621, CR 30 and CR 19 became CR 619 in Cape May County. In Atlantic County, CR 29 became CR 629. In addition, Ocean Drive was modified to use CR 621 through the entirety of The Wildwoods and CR 656 (former CR 56) through the northern part of Ocean City.
Over the years, several of the bridges along Ocean Drive have been reconstructed. In the late 1940s, the Ocean City-Longport Bridge was reconstructed due to poor maintenance from the earlier owner. In 1993, it was determined this bridge needed to be replaced, with the new bridge opened in 2002. A portion of the old bridge became a fishing pier. In 1998, bonds were issued for improvements to all of the bridges owned by the commission. Bonds were issued in 2005 for construction projects on the Townsends Inlet Bridge and Corsons Inlet Bridge.
Read more about this topic: Ocean Drive (New Jersey)
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