Shark River Draw
Coordinates	40°11′05″N 74°01′33″W / 40.184636°N 74.025849°W / 40.184636; -74.025849 (Shark River Draw)
Carries	New York and Long Branch (up until 1976) Ocean Avenue
Crosses	Shark River Inlet
Owner	New Jersey Transit
ID number	NJT 433
Characteristics
Design	Bascule Bridge
History
Construction end	1937
Location

The Shark River Draw, commonly known as the Belmar Bridge, is a moveable drawbridge that over the Shark River Inlet, an inlet at the mouth of the Shark River in the towns of Belmar and Avon-by-the-Sea Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, just west of the Atlantic Ocean.^[1]

The bascule bridge, built in 1937, carries NJ Transit Rail Operations North Jersey Coast Line^[2] between the Bradley Beach and Belmar stations. The bridge was built in 1937 by the New York and Long Branch Railroad.^[3] It underwent a major 5-stage rehabilitation in 2013–2014.^[4][5][6]

The drawbridge runs parallel and downstream to the fixed crossing of the New Jersey Route 35 and upstream of the moveable crossing of New Jersey Route 71 bridge to the east, together with which it is subject to the opening regulations as set out in Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations.^[7]

Mechanical failures

On September 22, 2021, emergency repairs were needed after the bridge was unable to open fully, blocking marine traffic for most of the day.^[8] Emergency repairs were completed and the bridge was reopened on September 30, 2021.^[9]

On March 1, 2024, the bridge suffered a mechanical failure that lead to "significant damage to the machinery of the North Bridge leaf."^[10] The bridge was unable to open for marine vessels for nearly two weeks. On March 12, a crane was brought in to manually lift the moveable sections and keep them in the open position, closing the roadway to all traffic but allowing marine traffic to pass,^[11] as legally required by the U.S. Coast Guard.^[12]