Rt. 71 Bridge Over Shark River Is Now Reopen

BELMAR, NJ — The Rt. 71 bridge over the Shark River is working again and now reopen to boat traffic, the NJ Dept. of Transportation announced at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

The bridge had been closed since Sunday, when flooding from last weekend's nor'easter damaged the bridge and prevented it from opening.

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Boats in that area were trapped for several days and could not get out.

But the bridge reopened to boat traffic at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, October 1, said the NJ DOT. This was after the state did successful testing of the bridge.

"The Rt. 1 71 bridge over the Shark River between Belmar and Avon-by-the-Sea in Monmouth County reopened," announced the NJ DOT shortly after 12 p.m. Thursday.

The mechanical/electrical room of the bridge flooded in the nor'easter. NJ Dept. of Transportation crews worked to pump the water out and then dry out the components that were submerged in salt water. Once the components were dry, testing was conducted to ensure the bridge could resume normal operations and safely reopen to all boat traffic.