STAFFORD – With the summer tourism season officially underway, driving to Long Beach Island may prove to be a little more difficult due to ongoing road construction on Route 72 and on the Manahawkin Bay Bridge.
Driving in Manahawkin has already been tricky due to several ongoing projects.
A temporary single lane closure of Route 72 will begin at 7 a.m. on Monday, June 4th for approximately three weeks, according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The contractor, Schiavone Construction, has scheduled to close the lane in an effort to stabilize slopes near the West Thorofare Bridge.
Kevin Israel with the state DOT says the working hours will be from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and the lane closure will be in place all day and all night.
All lanes of travel will be open in both directions by 9 p.m. on Thursday night for weekend traffic.
Construction workers will be installing steel sheeting to stabilize the slopes around the west abutment to the West Thorofare Bridge between Cedar Bonnet Island and Bonnet Island in Stafford, according to a news release from the DOT. The process will also be very loud so residents who live in the area are being warned ahead of time.
The $312 million dollar Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridge project started in 2013 and is not expected to end until 2021.
