Legislators Demand Action On Route 37 Bridge Issues

TOMS RIVER, NJ — In the wake of significant traffic jams in that snarled streets in Toms River and Brick when the Route 37 bridge got stuck open on Saturday, a group of local legislators are demanding answers and action from the state to fix the problem.

In a letter to Richard T. Hammer, the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, state Sen. Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen David Wolfe and Gregory McGuckin called the closure of the Mathis Bridge, the third one in July but by far the worst for the bridge that carries the eastbound lanes of Route 37 to the barrier island, "completely unacceptable."

"The Mathis Bridge is a major artery to barrier towns such as Seaside Heights and the Brick and Toms River beach areas," the letter from the 10th District legislators, who represent Brick and Toms River, said. "Issues like this have major impacts on businesses that thrive on the inflow of tourists visiting the shore throughout the summer months."

The mile-long bridge is a double leaf bascule moveable span bridge that was built in 1950, according to the DOT. A $79 million repair and renovation of the span began in November 2015, but the project will take three winters, with completion targeted for early 2018.

According to the DOT website, the proposed improvements to the Mathis Bridge include:

• replacement of the deck in the moveable span, flanking spans and the approach spans
• safety improvements to the barrier and warning gates and railings
• substructure repairs
• structural steel repairs
• bearing replacement and some painting
• mechanical/electrical rehabilitation of the machinery and controls

Improvements will also be made to the approach roadway, guide rails, bridge and approach lighting, the traffic signal at the westerly jug handle and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) devices.

The mechanical work on the span, however, has not yet been done.

On Saturday afternoon, the bridge did not fully lower after a scheduled opening for boat traffic, instead remaining raised by about 2 to 3 feet, according to witnesses. That happened about 3:30 p.m., and quickly backed up traffic on Route 37 east. Authorities began diverting traffic onto Fischer Boulevard, forcing motorists who wanted to get to the barrier island to detour north into Brick and east along Mantoloking Road to cross the Mantoloking Bridge and take Route 35 south.

But unlike the earlier two closures — one of which was attributed to an issue with a gate arm — the closure was not resolved quickly, and the backups built as locals and tourists tried to head to the barrier island to spend the evening.

The traffic that funneled north into Brick, combined with Brick's traffic, resulted in a bumper-to-bumper backup on Mantoloking Road that stretched back to Route 70, where the road is named Cedar Bridge Avenue. It additionally backed up Drum Point Road and Adamston Road, as local residents tried to skirt the backup on Mantoloking Road.

In Toms River, Route 37 backed up for several miles as motorists were diverted onto Fischer Boulevard, and nearby roads jammed as drivers tried to find ways around the backups.

Authorities tried to relieve some of the traffic by opening one lane eastbound across the Tunney Bridge, which carries westbound traffic, about 5:30 p.m., but by that point the jams were so extensive that some drivers said it took two hours to follow the detour from Toms River north to Brick and then go south to Seaside Heights.

"When the bridge is not in proper working order, thousands of motorists are affected," the letter said. "With the reoccurrence of problems related to the bridge, this may deter tourists from returning to the area in the future."

"The Mathis Bridge has always been a reliable means of transportation to the Jersey Shore and has never had issues such as this," the legislators wrote. "We feel the Department of Transportation needs to address this problem as soon as possible. Residents, tourist and business owners should not be inconvenienced by another closure or traffic jam caused by mechanical problems."

The bridge finally reopened about 6 p.m.

A state Department of Transportation truck makes its way eastbound across the Tunney Bridge span of the Route 37 bridge on Saturday during the closure of the Mathis Bridge, the eastbound span, which got stuck open, wreaking havoc on traffic in Toms River and Brick. Megan Wall photo