Route 71 reopening between Loch Arbour and Allenhurst as safety improvements advance

Detour to be removed and original two lanes restored

(Trenton) - New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced the removal of both a traffic shift and detour on Route 71/Norwood Avenue as the safety improvement project advances between Loch Arbour and Allenhurst, Monmouth County.

Beginning at 7 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, December 14, until midnight, NJDOT’s contractor, New Prince Concrete, is scheduled to remove barriers and restripe Route 71 between Edgemont Drive and Cedar Avenue. Once the work is complete, Route 71 southbound will be restored to its original configuration, and the current local detour for Route 71 northbound will be removed.
The Route 71 pavement resurfacing and safety improvements project, which started construction in March 2018 and stopped for the busy summer season, resumed this past fall with construction expanding to include Asbury Park.

The project will improve safety and operational performance on the roadway along a two-mile stretch between Cedar Avenue in Allenhurst and the Main Avenue/Bond Street intersection in Asbury Park. Project improvements include the resurfacing of Route 71/Main Street, upgrading 29 intersections with ADA compliant ramps, and several pedestrian upgrades including curb and sidewalk replacement. Additional improvements will include bike lanes, 17 new traffic signals, replacing of steel utility poles with standard wooden poles, landscape restoration, utility relocation, and improved lighting to enhance the safety of the road for the thousands of motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists using the road each day.

The project has been designed in phases with no work taking place between May 15 and September 15 during the busy summer season. Motorists should expect temporary detours and lane closures, and are advised to allow additional travel time and exercise caution while driving through the project limits. The project is expected to be completed in spring 2020. 

Road Diet
As part of the safety and operational improvements, a “road diet” will be implemented in Asbury Park. The new striping plan will reduce the number of travel lanes to one in each direction with a center turn-lane. Currently, Route 71/Main Street does not include dedicated left-turn lanes, which can lead to congestion, difficulty in making left turns, and a greater risk for crashes.

The presence of the new center turn-lane frees up traffic to operate more efficiently, and serves as a traffic calming measure to reduce speeds through a busy and vibrant business district with heavy pedestrian traffic. NJDOT has performed similar adjustments to a stretch of Route 45 in Woodbury and along Route 9 in Lakewood to help improve traffic flow and safety. 

The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT's traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info or on the NJDOT Facebook page.