The Justice Vincent S. Haneman Bridge in Brigantine, built in 1972,
Named after Vincent S. Haneman (April 25, 1902 – January 10, 1978) who was an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1960 to 1971.
Haneman was Mayor of Brigantine from 1934 to 1942.
Remnants of the old bridge were closed in 2015. Too dangerous for fishing.
Vincent S. Haneman was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in East Orange, New Jersey. He was granted a law degree from Syracuse University College of Law in 1923.
His start in public service came in 1926 when he was elected to the Brigantine Board of Education and was named City Solicitor.
In 1937, he became Assemblyman from Atlantic County in the New Jersey General Assembly and served for seven years. He was the counsel for the New Jersey Racing Commission from 1940 to 1944.
In 1944, Governor of New Jersey Walter Edge appointed Haneman to serve on the Court of Common Pleas. He was appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court in 1947. He served as a New Jersey Supreme Court justice from 1960 to 1971.
Haneman resided in Brigantine. He died on January 10, 1978 of a heart attack.
Bridge grand opening day: October 14, 1972
Construction started in 1969.
Dedicated and opened to motoring (and pedestrian) public on a sunny crisp day on October 14, 1972.
Residents rode their bicycles to the top of the bridge where there was a huge public commemoration/bridge-opening ceremony with marching bands, speeches by dignitaries, free food, a launch of balloons over the inlet.
That day was HUGE for Brigantine as it finally brought the island up into “modern times” and made for a much safer and efficient “connection” to the outside world! Brigantine’s official motto, especially on its Chamber of Commerce/civic calendar distributed that year was, “THE BRIDGE TO BETTER LIVING.”
It is one of the most beautiful and perfectly “symmetrical” bridges in the State of NJ.
The 1972 bridge is designated as the Vincent S. Haneman Memorial Bridge, in honor of Vincent S. Haneman, an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1960 to 1971 who was a resident of Brigantine
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I am interested in the history of Brigantine. I was an ocean lifeguard for BCBP 1962 to 1967. My family also has a history in Atlantic City going back to 1900.