State Will Provide Shuttle Service For Bicyclists And Pedestrians During Manahawkin Bay Bridge Project This Summer

The state Department of Transportation will provide a shuttle service for pedestrians and bicyclists this summer so they can get to Long Beach Island while the Manahawkin Bay Bridge project continues, according to The Sandpaper.

All traffic has been moved to the new span ofthe Route 72 bridge so the original bridge can be rehabilitated. The narrow lanes and shoulders on the old bridge make it "impossible" for bikers and walkers to use the older bridge, a spokesman for the DOT said.

The shuttle service, operated by Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association, should start sometime this week, said DOT spokesman Kevin Israel.

Most of the rehabilitation work this summer - pile jacketing, pier cap repairs and scour protection- will take place underneath the old bridge.  The entire bridge project is expected to be completed by 2020, the DOT has said.

By the time the work is finished,  two lanes of eastbound traffic will be traveling on the new bridge and two lanes of westbound traffic will be traveling on the original, reconstructed bridge, Israel has said.

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Location map: Courtesy of state Department of Transportation