 Through the decades, the Beesley's Point Bridge Company became unable to fund repairs on the aging bridge.In 1997, the bridge in conjunction with private outside investors, secured a $1 million loan from the New Jersey Department of Transportation to fund the necessary improvements in exchange for a promise that they would continue to keep the bridge open until 2016.In 2004, the owners of the bridge broke that promise realizing that the repairs would cost many times more than the original estimate.