Route 35 overnight full closure
in Bay Head and Mantoloking
rescheduled for Monday due to weather

Minor work tonight will require alternating traffic

(Trenton) - The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced the full overnight closure of Route 35 for final paving in Bay Head and Mantoloking is being rescheduled for Monday, April 20 because of weather. However, there will be work on Route 35 tonight requiring alternating traffic.

Beginning at 8 p.m. tonight, Friday, April 17, through 8 a.m. Saturday, April 18, NJDOT’s contractor, Agate Construction Company, Inc., is scheduled to close one lane of Route 35 with alternating traffic between Lyman Street in Mantoloking through Osborne Avenue in Bay Head to level the roadway in preparation for the final paving on Monday. There will be no parking allowed on the shoulder of Route 35 tonight in the work zone.

Mount Street, which was expected to be paved today, also will be paved on Monday, April 20. Work will take place between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.  There will be no parking on Mount Street and no access to driveways the day it is paved. NJDOT’s Community Outreach Team will continue to notify residents in advance of work being done. Downer Street, Lyman Street, Goetze Street were repaved this week.

Beginning at 9 p.m. Monday, April 20, until 6 a.m. the next day, NJDOT’s contractor, Agate Construction Company, Inc., will close Route 35 in both directions at Osborne Avenue in Bay Head through Princeton Avenue in Mantoloking for final paving of the highway.
There will be no parking allowed on Route 35 in the work zone and no access to driveways during the overnight closure. Parking will be available on side streets.

The full closure of the roadway is required to apply the surface course of asphalt using a process known as echelon paving. This technique eliminates the seams between lanes, reducing the possibility of roadway deterioration and potholes, which should provide a longer-lasting surface.  A small portion of the project north of Osborne Avenue will be paved using traditional daytime alternating traffic.

The following signed detours will be in place Monday night with local police assisting at points along the detour:

Southbound Detour

• Southbound motorists will turn right onto Osborne Avenue
• Turn left onto Lake Avenue
• Continue to Johnson Street then turn right at stop sign and turn left onto Clayton Avenue
• Clayton Avenue becomes Barnegat Lane in Mantoloking
• Continue to Herbert Street/Route 528 and turn right then immediate left turn onto Bay Avenue
• Turn left onto Princeton Avenue then turn right to return to Route 35 South

Northbound Detour

• Northbound traffic will turn left onto Princeton Avenue in Mantoloking
• Turn right onto Bay Avenue
• Continue to Herbert Street/Route 528 and turn right then immediate left on Barnegat Lane
• Barnegat Lane becomes Clayton Avenue in Bay Head
• Turn right onto Johnson Street then immediate left onto Lake Avenue
• Turn right onto Osborne Avenue then turn left to return to Route 35 North

Variable message signs will be used to notify motorists of all traffic pattern changes.  The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors.  Motorists are encouraged to check www.511nj.org for real-time travel information.

Project Details
Route 35, which is the backbone of the Barnegat Peninsula, was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy and is being completely rebuilt.  The $310 million project is divided into three geographic sections and began during the summer of 2013.

The new stone-and-asphalt roadway will be two feet thick, providing a more stable road and smoother driving surface.  A new storm-water drainage system for Route 35 has been designed to handle 25-year storms and will feature nine pump stations and treatment facilities to filter and purify the storm water prior to discharge into Barnegat Bay.

NJDOT has an accelerated schedule for this project to accomplish a massive amount of work in as short a timeframe as possible to bring the shore back better than ever. The Department is advancing this project in a manner that balances the desire to work expeditiously with the need to accommodate residents, business owners and visitors.

The Department has a robust community outreach effort that includes a hotline telephone number, 732-230-7356, and email address, restore.nj35@dot.state.nj.us for residents to pose questions or provide suggestions as work progresses.

NJDOT also has created a project-specific website that provides information on the proposed construction activity.  The site will be updated as work advances.