Route 37 Bridge Closures Planned Overnight For Final Span Tests

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Just when you thought it was safe to drive over the bridge ...

The Thomas A. Mathis Bridge on Route 37 connecting Toms River to the barrier island will be closed overnight for up to two weeks while final testing is conducted on the lift span, the state Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.

Traffic will be shifted onto the J. Stanley Tunney Bridge each night while the work is conducted. It is planned to run from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday.

Schiavone Construction Company, the contractor, will shift Route 37 eastbound traffic to one lane of the westbound side of the Tunney Bridge and close eastbound Route 37 at the intersection of Douglas Street just before the Mathis Bridge. Traffic will be shifted back onto Route 37 eastbound after crossing the Tunney Bridge near Catalina Avenue on Pelican Island. The jughandle to turn onto Douglas Street in Toms River will remain open.

The DOT said the shift began on Monday night, Sept. 23. Eastbound traffic will be restored by 6 a.m. daily, it said.

The testing of the double leaf bascule moveable lift span bridge's components is the final piece of the $56.4 million federally funded project that replaced the deck on the Mathis Bridge, which was 68 years old. The major construction was completed in May 2018 and included repairing and replacing the mechanical and electrical components that operate the lift span.

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