Route 37 Mathis Bridge Closing Friday: NJDOT

TOMS RIVER, NJ — For what officials are anticipating will be the last time, the Mathis Bridge will be closed to traffic beginning this Friday, Oct. 27, the state Department of Transportation announced.

Work began Friday morning to once more shift eastbound traffic to the Tunney Bridge, with Schiavone Construction Company putting concrete barriers in place and restriping the road. All of the changes were expected to be in place by 10 p.m., DOT officials said.

The closure of the span that carries Route 37 east over Barnegat Bay to Seaside Heights is the third in a three-year construction project to rehabilitate and improve the mile-long double leaf bascule moveable span bridge that was completed in 1950. The $74 million federally funded project began in November 2015

The work has included widening the bridge's three lanes, installing new railings and a new bridge operator’s control desk and new electrical components that operate the movable bridge. Cameras also have been installed, the DOT said.

Two lanes of the Tunney will remain open to westbound traffic from Seaside Heights. No oversized loads will be permitted on the bridge during the closure, the DOT said.

There will be no openings of the bridge to boat traffic from Dec. 1 through March 15, 2018, officials said.

The closure will be in place until the spring of 2018; the project is anticipated to be completely finished by summer, officials said.

Mathis Bridge closure, by Karen Wall