How a New Jersey Borough Became a Vital Link in the Intracoastal Waterway

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Point Pleasant, New Jersey, is more than a coastal borough. Bisected by a canal completed in 1925, this community serves as the northernmost leg of the Intracoastal Waterway. Here, marine traffic holds the right of way, forcing lift bridges to open hundreds of times daily during the busy summer season.

Situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, Point Pleasant occupies a unique geographic position between the Manasquan River and the Atlantic Ocean. While the area was historically a ceremonial meeting place for Lenape Native Americans, it was incorporated as a borough in 1920. The town’s modern identity is inextricably linked to the Manasquan River-Bay Head Canal, a critical maritime artery that divides the borough in half. This canal functions as the northern gateway to the Intracoastal Waterway, a massive navigation system stretching along the East Coast down to Florida.

The canal's impact on local infrastructure is significant. Because marine traffic is prioritized, the two lift bridges at Route 88 and Bridge Avenue must frequently accommodate passing vessels. During the peak summer months, these bridges may be raised as many as 300 times in a single day. This constant movement underscores the borough's role as a functional maritime hub rather than just a seasonal resort, a distinction emphasized by the town's official commitment to maintaining a year-round community of approximately 19,000 residents.

Governance in Point Pleasant follows the borough form of municipal government, the most common structure in New Jersey. This system utilizes a weak mayor and a strong council, where the mayor presides over meetings and holds veto power, but the council retains significant legislative and executive responsibilities. This structure has remained a constant as the town evolved from its early days as a logging settlement—though logging never became a major economic driver—into the residential borough it is today, governed by a mayor and a six-member council elected at-large.

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