Freeholders protest 'unsightly' $250,000 security fence by Garden State Parkway bridge

Cape May County Freeholders introduced a resolution on Jan. 24 asking New Jersey Turnpike Authority to remove the 8-foot tall anti-terrorism fences bordering the Great Egg Harbor Bridge on the Garden State Parkway.

Freeholder Susan Sheppard said she heard concerns about the “unsightliness” of the fence and researched it.

“It’s just not a very attractive entranceway into Cape May County. We did some investigation and found there were 10 fences put up throughout New Jersey,” Sheppard said.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority contracted Joseph M. Sanzari, Inc. of Hackensack for $6.9 million to install the fencing on 10 major bridges in late 2011. The cost to install fencing around the Great Harbor Harbor Bridge was $250,000.

Thomas Feeney, spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, answered the Ocean City Sentinel’s questions about the fencing in an e-mail. According to Feeney, the New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Act, which was signed into law in October 2001, created a Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force. Members of the task force include the head of the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the Attorney General, the superintendent of the State Police, the adjunct general of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Commissioner of Transportation. The task force in 2004 created the State Critical Infrastructure Assurance Plan, which required the Turnpike Authority to assess the security vulnerabilities of bridges and other critical infrastructure, Feeney wrote.

The Turnpike Authority contracted Weidlinger Associates Inc. to assess the threats and vulnerabilities of the Authority’s 16 bridges to potential acts of vandalism or terrorist attacks and provide appropriate countermeasures.…[more]

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