To Drivers' Relief, Camden's Baird Blvd. Bridge Set To Reopen
By Mike DeNardo
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- Just in time for the start of school on Monday, a key bridge in Camden, NJ is about to reopen.
The reconstruction of the Baird Boulevard bridge in Camden is just about finished, according to Camden County freeholder Ian Leonard.
"It looks like the bridge will be open by the end of this week, or at the latest probably Saturday," he tells KYW Newsradio.
Leonard says the bridge, built in the 1920s, should be ready to take drivers over the Cooper River any day now. The $10-million reconstruction was made necessary after the bridge sustained structural damage during Hurricane Irene, in 2011.
And Leonard says opening the bridge will be a relief for drivers.
"People have had to try to find every way to get in and out of the city," he notes. "It's not so bad in the morning -- it's just in the afternoon when everyone is leaving at the same exact time. It has caused, litertally, gridlock in the city of Camden."
Leonard says the reconstruction was delayed by wet weather over the summer.
