Todd Thompson, seated at center, discussing bridge options with other attendees at the Rumson session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
What should be done about the crumbling Oceanic Bridge between Rumson and Middletown?
Area residents were offered dozens of options Tuesday as Monmouth County officials hit the reset button on an earlier process derailed by a change in federal regulations.
The Oceanic Bridge between Rumson and Middletown is in “critical” condition, according to the Monmouth County Engineer’s office, and officials plan to unveil “conceptual alternatives” for its replacement or repair at meetings slated in each town today.
Less than a week after its last overnight closing, the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge will again be closed overnight tonight from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday, according to signage posted this morning. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
Monmouth County Bridge S-32, better known as a the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge, will be closed overnight from 8 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday for regular maintenance to the center bascule, Monmouth County officials announced Wednesday.
Detours will be posted, as the span will be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
Commuting to Brookdale Community College in Lincroft via New Jersey Transit bus will no longer require a transfer in Red Bank under a new route alignment announced Tuesday. According to the report, the 833 and 835 routes will be merged into a new route numbered 838, “providing commuters from Freehold, Sea Bright, Rumson, Fair Haven and eastern Red Bank with a ‘one-seat’ ride to the Lincroft campus” by eliminating a transfer, according to the Asbury Park Press. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Monmouth County Bridge S-32, better known as a the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge, is slated for replacement, and the county’s engineering department plans to hold two informational sessions on the Shrewsbury River span’s design next week.
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Broad Street in Red Bank following a December, 2010 snowstorm. Below, a forecast map from the National Weather Service indicates a snowfall of 14 inches is “most likely” in on the Greater Red Bank Green this weekend, but could range as high as 22 inches. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The National Weather Service issued a weekend blizzard watch Thursday morning for the region that includes the Greater Red Bank Green.
Late in the morning, crews from the Red Bank public utilities began laying salt brine on every street in town in an effort to keep the roads safe and delay the start of plowing efforts, DPU director Cliff Keen told redbankgreen.
“I think we’re ready,” said Keen, who’s overseeing his first snow challenge since replacing Gary Watson as department head last month. Most of the department’s staff was also on board for the 2010 blizzard, he notes.
Commuters who travel between Little Silver and Oceanport via Oceanport Avenue are in for some changes to their routine.
Beginning on or about January 12, the Oceanport Avenue bridge will be closed from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays for several weeks of repairs, according to Oceanport police. Detours via the nearby Goosenck Bridge will be in effect. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
After serving as the “temporary” Hubbard’s Bridge on West Front Street between Red Bank and Middletown for 11 years, the modular structure had been completely dismantled Thursday. The span, seen during deconstruction in September above right, was replaced earlier this year by a new one at a cost of $21.9 million.
Monmouth County officials have previously said the modular structure may be reassembled elsewhere. (Photos by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
Tossed to the curb but apparently still having a ball, a clutch of pumpkins lay among fallen leaves on Hance Road in Rumson Thursday morning. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
Overnight closures of a stretch of Ridge Road in Fair Haven, Little Silver and Rumson got underway Wednesday night to allow for repaving work.
The closures, from Bingham Avenue to west of Prospect Avenue, are expected to recur over six nights, weather permitting, except for the weekend. Residents who access their homes from the road are being allowed through, according to local police. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
Motorists and pedestrians crossing the new Hubbards Bridge on West Front Street between Red Bank and Middletown in recent days have been treated to an unusual sight: the piece-by-piece dismantling of the “temporary” bridge it replaced.
As part of the $21.9 million bridge project, the modular span, which was in place for 11 years, is to be removed by next spring for possible reassembly elsewhere, Monmouth County officials have said. (Photos by John T. Ward and Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
After a two-week closure that slowed traffic to a crawl, the new Hubbards Bridge on West Front Street between Red Bank and Middletown reopened to traffic Wednesday morning.
The closure was required to allow for reconstruction of the intersections on both ends of the spans the Red Bank side is shown above, as seen Tuesday afternoon.
The shutdown was also needed to permit crews to relocate overhead utilities running alongside the old bridge to underneath the new span. That work is still underway, and may require alternating traffic flows Wednesday and Thursday, Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell tells redbankgreen. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
The new, not-quite-completed Hubbards Bridge, on West Front Street between Red Bank and Middletown, and the intersections at both ends will be closed to all traffic for two weeks starting Wednesday, August 12, Monmouth County officials announced late Friday.
The newly not-quite-completed Hubbards Bridge, on West Front Street between Red Bank and Middletown, will be closed to all traffic beginning at 7:30 p.m. to accommodate utility work, Red Bank police announced Tuesday.
During that time, southbound traffic on Shrewsbury Avenue will be detoured onto Bridge Avenue to bypass the area. Motorists are asked to plan an alternate route or follow the posted detour.
The bridge is scheduled to re-open before the Friday morning rush hour, police said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
[Update: This post has been updated to reflect a change in the dates of the closure.] Monmouth County plans closings of Branch Avenue between Hudson Avenue in Red Bank and White Road in Little Silver for two nights beginning Tuesday, local officials said.
The closures, to allow for milling and paving of the road, are to be in effect from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Parking on Branch will be prohibited during the closings. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Boaters and kayakers shared the Navesink River with a construction barge at the Oceanic Bridge on Monday, Memorial Day. The 75-year-old span, which links Rumson and Middletown, was scheduled to close to all but marine traffic starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday for repairs to the steel bascule.
During repairs in April, deterioration was discovered in two areas of the bascule not previously accessible, Monmouth County officials said last month. The latest repairs are expected to wrap up with a reopening of the bridge on Saturday, June 13. In the meantime, seasonal rules and scheduling will be in effect for marine traffic. (Photo by Peter Lindner. Click to enlarge)
The 75-year-old span will be closed to all but marine traffic for three weeks starting May 26. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Previously unseen deterioration on the Oceanic Bridge between Rumson and Middletown will require a full shutdown of the span for three weeks following Memorial Day, Monmouth County reported Wednesday.
C.J. Lagan, at right, studies proposed changes for exit 109 at the township library Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed reconfiguration of Garden State Parkway exit 109 in Lincroft drew dozens of nearby residents and commuters to the Middletown Township Public Library Thursday afternoon.
According to project manager Maynard Abuan, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority plans to spend $60 million on the two-year interchange rebuild, which calls for:
The plan calls for the elimination of the problematic jughandle at Half Mile Road that eastbound motorists now have to use to access the parkway’s northbound lanes. Below, a 2013 schematic of the planned changes. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Attention Red Bank area motorists: Exit 109 of the Garden State Parkway is in line for a two-year, $60 million reconstruction, NJ.com reports.
Work on the Lincroft interchange at Newman Springs Road won’t start until 2017, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority tells transportation writer Larry Higgs.
But the authority, which owns the Parkway, is giving commuters a first look at what’s to come – including a new “flyover” ramp from eastbound Newman Springs Road onto the northbound parkway lanes to replace the dreaded Half Mile Road jughandle – at an information session scheduled for Thursday in Middletown.
Users of Rumson Road in Rumson and Little Silver should prepare for disruption to their routines starting Wednesday. Monmouth County plans to repave the road between Branch Avenue and Bingham Avenue, a job that is expected to take six days, depending on the cooperation of the weather, according to a notice on the Rumson website. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
Overnight closures of the Oceanic Bridge between Middletown and Rumson are scheduled to begin Tuesday night as ongoing repair work to the 75-year-old span continues, according to Monmouth County officials.
Traffic will be shut down from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., Sunday through Friday morning, until April 30. A routine of single-lane closures during the day is already in effect to enable the contactor, George Harms Construction Company of Howell, to perform required work above and below the bridge deck, according to a county press release. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
The final full day of the frigid winter of 2015 saw the borough of Red Bank again laying down down brine Thursday in anticipation of a snowfall Friday.
Though the northern part of New Jersey was expected to get up to six inches of snow, the Greater Red Bank Green was in for just 1 to 3, according to the National Weather Service, with white stuff beginning to fall around 11 a.m. Popular Facebook forecaster Bob Weatherman Burger, who created the map at right, says it won’t stick to roadways and sidewalks, though.
Spring begins at 6:45 p.m., according to the Farmer’s Almanac. (Map by Bob Weatherman Burger. Click to enlarge)
Fog enveloped the Shrewsbury River, seen here looking south from Washington Avenue in Rumson, Saturday evening.
As the final work week of Winter 2015 gets underway, the Greater Red Bank Green can expect partial sunshine and temperatures in the high 40s Monday, according to the National Weather Service. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
After weeks of bitter cold and snow, a lone seagull occupied the narrowing ice of the Navesink River off Red Bank Sunday afternoon, above. By Monday evening, after a day of temperatures in the high 40s, the river ice had retreated, as seen from the Molly Pitcher Hotel Marina, at right.
The National Weather Service forecasts midday temperatures to remain in the mid-40s or higher through the rest of the week, with occasional rain. (Photos by John T. Ward and Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)