Route 37 Mathis Bridge Work Expected To Begin In Spring

(The Mathis Bridge, which carries Route 37 east to Seaside Heights, will be closed during winter months for construction work. Photo by Adam Elmquist, Bloomfield; shared on Panoramio)

The $79 million in repair work to the 65-year-old Route 37 Thomas A. Mathis Bridge should get underway this spring, but the majority of the work will be done in the winter months, Toms River officials announced recently.

Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher said the town received a letter from Jamie Fox, commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, saying the DOT expects to award the bid for the work soon and that preliminary construction could begin this spring.

However, the bulk of the work -- which involves structural repairs, substructural repairs, safety improvements and replacement of the deck of the bridge, among other items -- will be done during the winter months, the DOT said, to accommodate summer shore traffic.

That work, which will require full closure of the Mathis span, will be done from November through April, starting with this November, officials said. The project is expected to be completed by April 2018, officials said.

During closures of the Mathis span, eastbound traffic will be funneled onto the Tunney span, with that span holding one lane eastbound and two lanes westbound.

Boat traffic will be affected by the work as well, with boats requiring opening of the Mathis Bridge being prohibited between Dec. 1 and March 30 of each year.

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 normal complement of three eastbound travel lanes on the Mathis Bridge and three westbound lanes on the Tunney Bridge will be maintained from mid-May through October of 2015, 2016 and 2017, the DOT told the township.

Pedestrians will have year-round use of the sidewalk on the north side of Tunney Bridge, the DOT said.

Updates on this project as well as the work on Route 35 can be found on the DOT website by clicking here.

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