Final Route 35 Work In Toms River, Lavallette Underway, State Says

With Labor Day and the summer tourist season now in the rearview mirror, construction is resuming on Route 35 on the barrier island.

The state Department of Transportation announced last week that the final phase of the $341 million project, covering 5 miles of the highway through Lavallette, Toms River and Brick, would resume this week.

During the work, one travel lane and shoulder will be closed southbound direction to complete drainage improvements, curb installation, ADA-compliant ramps and signal improvements in advance of final paving. One lane and a shoulder in each direction will be maintained, officials said.

Beginning next week:

• Final paving will begin overnight from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on the southbound lanes at milepost 8 to milepost 4. One lane and shoulder will be paved at a time.

• One lane and shoulder will remain open for traffic.

• This work is expected to be completed in October, when the final paving will then shift to the northbound lanes.

• Construction will be completed on one last outfall between Bay Avenue and Bay Lane in Brick. Once this work is complete, final paving on Route 35 southbound from milepost 8 to 9 will take place.

• While the final pavement is being completed on the southbound lanes, the right lane and shoulder of Route 35 northbound will be closed, with one lane and shoulder maintained for traffic.

• The reconstruction of the right shoulder and sidewalks through the six blocks of the Lavallette business district from Bond Avenue to Brown Avenue will take place. This work is expected to be completed in October.

• Once paving on the southbound lanes and shoulder work in the Lavallette Business District are complete, final paving will begin overnight from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on the northbound lanes at milepost 4 to milepost 9. One lane and shoulder will be paved at a time, with one lane and shoulder open for traffic.

In addition to the work between milepost 4 and 9, a small section of Route 35 between Harris and Howe streets in Bay Head will be closed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. beginning on Monday, Sept. 14, with alternating traffic to correct settlement around two manholes. Settlement is often the result of pavement work performed during the winter months, which was necessary on this project because of the moratorium on working in the summer to minimize the impact on summer vacationers and businesses. This work is expected to be completed by the end of the week.

The project, which began in the fall of 2013 to totally reconstruct 12.5 miles of Route 35 and add a new drainage system was divided into three geographic sections. Before summer, work on the highway was completed in two of the three sections covering 7.5 miles of Route 35 in Bay Head, Mantoloking, Toms River, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park and Berkeley.