The path of the new Hubbards Bridge between Middletown, on the left, and Red Bank is marked in yellow. (Click to enlarge)

Commuters who use the bridge connecting Red Bank and Middletown via West Front Street may want to come up with alternate plans.

Starting today, Monday, Monmouth County plans to subject Hubbard Avenue “and other roads on the Middletown side” of the span to intermittent lane closures between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., the county said in an announcement Monday morning.

The closures are part of the prep work for a four-month closure of the bridge that begins on January 2.

From the announcement:

“This work needs to be done in advance of the [bridge] closure so that the local roads can adequately handle the detours that will be put into place during the prolonged closure,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering.

On Jan. 2, work will begin to connect the new bridge to the Middletown and Red Bank shorelines. This work will take approximately four months to complete.

This work will also require the detouring of traffic away from West Front Street. Signed detours will be in place.

Motorists should expect travel delays in the area while this work is completed.

The bridge contractor, Agate Construction of Ocean View, NJ is on track to complete the opening of the new bridge to traffic by May 2015.

The West Front Street Bridge has remained open to vehicle and pedestrian traffic for most the project.