Hurricane Risk in Brigantine, NJ: The 1944 Bridge Disaster
Brigantine is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, on Brigantine Island, connected to the mainland by a single bridge. The clearest, most dramatic evidence of this town's hurricane exposure is not a recent named storm but a real, dated 1944 disaster: the Great Atlantic Hurricane destroyed Brigantine's original 1924 bridge, cutting the island off from the mainland by road and forcing residents onto ferry service for 21 months until a permanent replacement finally opened. That access crisis is not incidental history -- it is directly tied to the town's own name, which the earliest European explorers gave it because of the frequent shipwrecks along its offshore shoals, and it remains directly relevant today, since Brigantine still has exactly one road connection to the mainland. This page lays out what actually happened in 1944, how that event connects to Brigantine's shipwreck-naming origin, what single-bridge access means for the island today, and what remains unconfirmed, honestly and without inventing additional storm names or dates.
The 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane: What Actually Happened
In 1944, the Great Atlantic Hurricane struck the Jersey Shore and destroyed Brigantine's original 1924 bridge, the town's only road connection to the mainland at the time. With the bridge gone, Brigantine residents were left to rely on ferry service to reach the mainland -- not for days or weeks, but for 21 months, until a permanent replacement bridge was finally completed. That is nearly two full years of a barrier-island community depending on boats rather than a road to reach schools, jobs, hospitals, and supplies on the mainland.
This is the confirmed, dated hurricane event for Brigantine, and this page does not invent or imply any other named storm striking the town. The 1944 storm's significance for Brigantine is not measured in a casualty count or a dollar figure -- neither was confirmed in the research behind this page -- but in the sheer duration of the access crisis it caused: a single hurricane severed the town's only link to the mainland for close to two years.
A Town Named for Shipwrecks
The 1944 bridge disaster is not an isolated event in Brigantine's history -- it is the latest chapter in a much longer story of the town's exposure to the sea. Brigantine takes its name from the frequent wrecks of brigantine-rigged sailing ships along its offshore shoals, with more than 300 vessels reportedly wrecked in the area over roughly a 200-year period. The area was first noted by European explorers as early as September 2, 1608, when Henry Hudson's ship, the Half Moon, logged it during its voyage.
A town named for the ships it has wrecked, whose only bridge was later destroyed by a hurricane, is a town whose relationship with the sea has always cut both ways -- the same barrier-island geography that draws visitors to its beaches has also produced 300-plus shipwrecks and a nearly two-year access crisis. That history is worth knowing, not to alarm, but because it is genuinely part of what makes Brigantine's shore exposure real rather than theoretical.
One Bridge In, One Bridge Out: Brigantine's Access Reality Today
The bridge that replaced the storm-destroyed 1924 span did not open until 1972 -- itself a reminder of how long a rebuild can take after a major storm. That bridge, the Justice Vincent S. Haneman Memorial Bridge, is named for Vincent S. Haneman, who served eight years as Brigantine's mayor before becoming a New Jersey Supreme Court Justice. Today, more than fifty years after it opened, the Haneman Bridge via Route 87 (Brigantine Boulevard) remains the only road connection between Brigantine and the mainland. NJ Transit bus route 501 also connects the island to Atlantic City, but it too depends on that same bridge.
In practical terms, that means Brigantine has exactly one road in and one road out. This is not a hypothetical planning concern -- it is the same structural reality that produced 21 months of ferry-only access in 1944, and it is worth understanding plainly rather than glossing over: a single-bridge barrier island depends entirely on that one crossing remaining open and usable, both for daily life and for storm evacuation.
General Hurricane Preparedness for a Single-Access Barrier Island
Brigantine's single-bridge access shapes what hurricane preparedness should look like here more than perhaps any other single factor. Evacuation timing matters more on an island with one way off than on a mainland community with multiple route options, so residents, renters, and property owners should know the evacuation route and plan to leave well before a storm closes in, not after conditions have already deteriorated. Waiting to see how a storm develops is a materially different risk calculation on a one-bridge island than it is elsewhere.
General preparedness steps that apply to any coastal property still hold here: securing loose outdoor items before high wind arrives, understanding whether flood insurance is required or advisable for a given address, and following official evacuation guidance rather than personal judgment about a storm's likely path. Given the 1944 precedent, it is also reasonable for property owners to think about what an extended, weeks-or-months-long access disruption -- not just a short-term evacuation -- could mean for a property, even though no one can predict whether or when such an event might recur.
What This Page Does Not Confirm
This page confirms that the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane destroyed Brigantine's original 1924 bridge, that residents relied on ferry service for 21 months until a permanent replacement was completed, that the current Justice Vincent S. Haneman Memorial Bridge opened in 1972 and remains the town's only road access via Route 87, and that Brigantine's own name traces to over 300 shipwrecks along its shoals over roughly 200 years, first noted via Henry Hudson's Half Moon in 1608 -- all per Wikipedia. It does not name or date any other hurricane or tropical storm striking Brigantine, and it does not state a casualty count or a dollar damage figure for the 1944 storm or any other storm; those figures were not confirmed in the research behind this page, and none is invented here.
This page also does not state a current Brigantine property tax rate or a current New Jersey state sales tax rate. New Jersey has its own real state sales tax and its own property-tax structure -- this is this site's fourteenth New Jersey market, following Cape May, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Sea Isle City, Ocean City, Strathmere, Longport, Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City -- and current figures should be confirmed directly rather than assumed. Current (2026) population, median home price, and active listing counts beyond the 2020 census figure of 7,716 were also not confirmed this research pass.
Where to Find Current Data
For current, address-specific risk assessment and evacuation planning, the right first stop is the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management, which coordinates statewide hurricane and coastal-storm preparedness, evacuation routes, and shelter information, alongside Atlantic County's own emergency management office for local zone assignments. For live storm tracking, forecasts, and historical hurricane data, use NOAA's National Hurricane Center.
For a property-specific flood zone determination, use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, and for FEMA's own hurricane and flood preparedness guidance, visit FEMA directly. For current tax rates, bridge-condition updates, or municipal storm-response and flood-mitigation planning, contact Brigantine's own municipal offices directly, rather than relying on any fixed date given here. For coverage and premium questions -- including how New Jersey's insurance and coastal-property rules work -- talk to a New Jersey-licensed insurance professional before making any purchase decision. Nothing on this page is emergency-management, insurance, or engineering advice.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. The 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane's destruction of Brigantine's original 1924 bridge -- forcing residents onto ferry service for 21 months until a permanent replacement was completed -- is sourced from Wikipedia's Brigantine entry, as is the current Justice Vincent S. Haneman Memorial Bridge (opened 1972, named for Vincent S. Haneman, an eight-year Brigantine mayor and later a New Jersey Supreme Court Justice) via Route 87 (Brigantine Boulevard), which remains the town's only road access, supplemented by NJ Transit bus route 501. Brigantine's own name, traced to more than 300 shipwrecks along its offshore shoals over roughly a 200-year period and first noted via Henry Hudson's ship Half Moon's log on September 2, 1608, is also sourced from Wikipedia, as is the city's 2020 census population of 7,716. No other named or dated hurricane or tropical storm striking Brigantine, no casualty figure, no dollar figure for storm damage, no current FEMA flood-zone designation, current property tax rate, New Jersey state sales tax rate, current median home price, or current active-listing count was confirmed in the research behind this page, and none is invented here. For current risk assessment and preparedness guidance, contact the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and Atlantic County's own emergency management office directly; for live storm tracking and historical hurricane data, use NOAA's National Hurricane Center; for flood zone determinations and preparedness resources, use FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and FEMA directly; and for coverage questions, consult a New Jersey-licensed insurance professional. Nothing on this page is emergency-management, insurance, or engineering advice.