Community Corner

Route 88 Bridge to Close At Night This Week

Closure needed for ongoing maintenance work

Beginning Monday night, the Route 88 bridge over the Point Pleasant Canal will be closed nightly from 9 p.m. to about 6 a.m. for approximately five consecutive nights.

The state Department of Transportation is hoping the closures will not be needed after Friday. The closures are necessary for DOT’s contractor, Agate Construction, to test a new mechanical system on the vertical-lift bridge.  Waterway traffic will not be impeded.

The DOT will employ variable message signs on Route 88 to alert motorists of the bridge closures and detour.  The following detours will be in place during the closures:

Find out what's happening in Brickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Route 88 eastbound motorists will take Beaver Dam Road (CR 630) to Bridge Avenue east over the Lovelandtown Bridge to Bay Avenue to Route 88 eastbound.
  • Route 88 westbound motorists will take Bay Avenue to Bridge Avenue west over the Lovelandtown Bridge to Beaver Dam Road to Route 88 westbound.

The right lane on Route 88 eastbound will remain closed to traffic.  All work is weather dependent. The DOT is repairing the mechanical and electrical systems on the Route 88 bridge and also installing new barrier gates.

The work is part of a $17.8 million contract that includes mechanical and electrical improvements to the Route 71/Main Street bridge over Shark River that connects Belmar and Avon-By-The-Sea in Monmouth County.

Find out what's happening in Brickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The work at both locations is expected to be complete in May.

The DOT provides emergency roadway information, construction schedule updates and real time traffic information and images at www.511nj.org.


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