Manahawkin Bay Bridge

Manahawkin Bay Bridge
Carries	Route 72
Crosses	Manahawkin Bay
Locale	Ocean County, New Jersey
Official name	Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge
Other name(s)	The Causeway
Named for	Dorland J. Henderson
Characteristics
Design	Dorland J. Henderson
Material	Steel girder
Map of New Jersey Route 72 showing the bridge crossing Manahawkin Bay

The Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge, familiarly known as the Manahawkin Bay Bridge or (while technically inaccurate) The Causeway, is a steel girder bridge that spans Manahawkin Bay, carrying traffic along Route 72 between Long Beach Island (LBI) and the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey. The bridge starts at Manahawkin and ends at Ship Bottom on Long Beach Island. The bridge spans five land masses: the mainland, Long Beach Island, and three intermediate land masses, of which two are small and one is rather large.

The bridge provides views of Barnegat Bay, Little Egg Harbor Bay and the Atlantic City skyline, less than 25 miles (40 km) away.

The main span of the Manahawkin Bay Bridge sports a unique roadway lighting system, unofficially dubbed the String of Pearls, was designed by NJDOT engineer Dorland J. Henderson; the bridge was officially named after him in 2000. The lighting system, which is made up of 768 separate fluorescent lights recessed in the bridge's side guard rails, was the first of its kind in the world. After being in continuous operation since the 1950s, replacement parts for the lighting system have become unavailable, rendering many of the fluorescent bulbs dark and irreplaceable. The original, fluorescent "String of Pearls" lighting system is being replaced by a modern LED lighting system mimicking the "String of Pearls" effect on the north and south exterior faces of the rehabilitated and new bridge spans, respectively. However, unlike the original, the new side rail lights will be for ornamental purposes as the roadway itself will be lit by traditional overhead lighting. In time for Memorial Day weekend 2016, the new lighting system on the south exterior face of the new bridge was illuminated. The north face will not be illuminated until restoration of the original bridge is completed.