Route 35 Bridge Testing Finished

Bridge between Point Beach and Brielle to remain passable

  You'll be able to keep crossing the Route 35 bridge when you come to it. It's been passable since mid-afternoon Wednesday and it looks like it will stay that way. The state says the testing on the bridge is finished, which is good news for those who sat in traffic Wednesday as the bridge was intermittently in the raised position. Contractor crews left the bridge shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday and will not need to return. Contractors for the state Department of Transportation (DOT) were testing the locking mechanisms on the bridge, they ran two or three tests and they were just fine, said DOT spokesman Timothy Greeley on Thursday. "They do not have anything further planned," Greeley said. Acknowledging that not getting the word out to the…

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UPDATE: Route 35 in Mantoloking is Re-opened

An ocean breach had forced a closure from Herbert Street to the Bay Head/Mantoloking border.

  Route 35, from Herbert Street to the Bay Head/Mantoloking border, is re-opened, according to the Mantoloking police department. That section of the state highway that had been compromised by an ocean breach in the wee hours of Thursday morning opened up around 11:05 or 11:10 a.m. today, police said. The Ocean County Road Department and the municipality's emergency contractor, RWV Land & Livestock, will haul sand all day from the state Department of Transportation site in Wall, according to the Mantoloking Office of Emergency Management's Facebook page. "Please use caution when driving around town as sections of East Avenue and Barnegat Lane are still covered with sand and debris," the Facebook post says. The town remains open to …

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Westbound Lanes of Route 88 Bridge Closed Part of Tues. and Wed.

Traffic is shifted into eastbound lanes

Both westbound lanes of the Route 88 bridge in Point Borough are closed today until 3 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the state Department of Transportation (DOT). The traffic will be shifted into the eastbound lanes allowing one lane of traffic in each direction. This work will be coordinated with the ongoing work at this structure by the Army Corps of Engineers, says the DOT. Editor's Note: Patch was not informed of this until this morning and is posting this story shortly after getting the information. Information will be updated if any further information is announced.

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Route 88 Bridge to Stay Open Tonight

Plan to close bridge in Point Pleasant cancelled due to high winds

  The Route 88 bridge will remain open tonight, according to the state Department of Transportation (DOT). The original plan was for the bridge to be closed tonight until 5 a.m. Friday so a contractor for the Army Corps of Engineers could do work. However, "due to higher than normal winds they will not be working tonight and therefore the expected closure of the Rt 88 drawbridge will not be necessary tonight," according to a statement the DOT released Thursday night. Work will be done sometime after New Year's Day.

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Route 37 Bridge Lane from Seaside Closed Six Months

Repainting project will shutter right westbound lane of J. Stanley Tunney Bridge through March 2012

The westbound side of the Route 37 J. Stanley Tunney Bridge, which connects Toms River to Seaside Heights over Barnegat Bay, will be reduced to two lanes from three for the next six months, the state Department of Transportation said in a release Tuesday. The closure of the right travel-lane began Monday and will last through the end of March 2012 while contractors paint the bridge, the DOT said. The DOT’s contractor, Jupiter Painting Contracting Co., is handling the $9 million project that also includes the repainting of the Route 37 eastbound Thomas A. Mathis lift bridge and the Pelican Island bridge at the eastern end of the causeway, the release said. The project is required to maintain the integrity of the bridges, the DOT said. “…

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Fishing Friday

Sea Bass Quota to be Cut, But Winter Flounder Bite Remains Strong

ASMFC decision will significantly cut back on sea bass harvest

I know some of you have probably been thinking in recent weeks, “geez, this is the most depressing fishing column I’ve ever read!” Well, get ready to have your point proven again. We’re about to lose 40 percent of our recreational sea bass quota. Don’t shoot me, hook me or gaff me – I’m just the messenger. A March 28 ruling from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has established new state shares for black sea bass that will see the overall recreational quota reduced. “The 2010 regulations resulted in a preliminary estimated harvest of 2.98 million pounds, approximately 1.15 million pounds above the 2010 target,” said ASMFC spokeswoman Tina Berger in a news release. “Given that the 2010 regulations were not effective in staying…

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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: The right lane on Route 88 eastbound will remain closed to traffic.  All work is weather dependent. The DOT is repairing the mechanical and …

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Lane Shifts on Route 88 Bridge Coming Wednesday

Construction work delayed due to impending storms Monday

On Wednesday morning, the state Department of Transportation's contractor, Agate Construction, is scheduled to reopen the right lane on Route 88 westbound, returning that side of the highway to the normal two-travel lane configuration.  The original plan was to reopen that westbound, right lane on Monday. But weather forecasts of rain prompted the DOT to postpone that for two days. Also on Wednesday, the right lane on Route 88 eastbound will then be closed, reducing that side of the highway to one lane over the bridge. At the Route 88 eastbound intersection with Herbertsville Road/Beaver Dam Road the right lane will be temporarily converted to a right-turn-only lane and the left lane will handle through-traffic over the bridge. This new …

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