Boaters report close calls with Townsends Inlet Bridge as dangerous conditions persist: "It's terrifying"

Navigating Townsends Inlet in New Jersey has gotten so tricky that boat captains are reporting close calls with the bridge.

Miss Avalon Capt. Brandon Hurd had a close call navigating Saturday through the Townsends Inlet Bridge.

"It was the closest call in my 10-year career going through that bridge," Hurd said.

His Meta glasses captured video of the near-miss as he asked passengers if he struck the bridge.

Twenty years ago, Google Maps photos showed a large inlet beneath the bridge. There is little-to-no beach visible.

CBS News Philadelphia two months ago reported on the beach that has since encroached on the navigation channel, setting up what boat captains said has become a dangerous obstacle course.

"It's terrifying," Irv Hurd, who owns the Miss Avalon, said. "We like to go fishing and do everything. We really dislike the bridge."

Boat captains in Avalon and Sea Isle City speaking with CBS News Philadelphia said the problem of the expanding beach is worsening.

"That bridge has caused a lot of issues," Capt. Bob Rush said. "And a lot of havoc for a lot of people."

Rush operates Starfish Boats in Sea Isle City. Asked to describe navigating the channel, he said, "The words I can't say on TV."

Hurd said he recently tried moving through and the inlet almost took his 78-foot-long boat onto the beach.

"It's a big wheel, I'm spinning it this way," he said. "I'm spinning it that way."

CBS News Philadelphia confirmed with the superintendent of a dredging project replenishing parts of Avalon's beach that they'll begin working to dredge the inlet and clear the expanded beach.

Part of the problem is that no agency is responsible for inlet maintenance.

The emergency dredge project is expected to run $1.6 million, with Cape May County, Sea Isle City and Avalon sharing the cost.

Boat captains said it can't come soon enough.