Updated: Buckwald Drive Reopens after October Closure

Editor's Note: The story is updated with both lanes of Buckwald now open for traffic this morning.

A main thorofare for Ocean County College and shortcut between Church and Hooper avenues reopened after about two weeks of construction.

Buckwald Drive, closed for electrical repairs, had for most of October seen both lanes closed for the project. College Drive was the only entrance to Ocean County College while Buckwald was shuttered.

Through Oct. 5, both lanes of the north-south road were closed, creating reported backups and heavy volume along Hooper Avenue between College Drive and Yorktowne Boulevard through Silverton.

On Oct. 12, the road was expected to be open, according to the county roads department. Buckwald and Hooper are both county roads. OCC Public Relations Roseann D'Urso said the road has opened early and traffic is expected to proceed in both directions this morning.

Throughout this week, crews planned to keep one lane closed only. The northbound lane of Buckwald Drive (from the College toward Church Road) will be closed to vehicular traffic from 6:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. today and tomorrow so the new college electrical service can continue to be installed.

Only southbound traffic was open in the open southbound lane of Buckwald Drive, meaning the road would serve as an entrance to OCC but students leaving the campus and expecting to head toward Church Road would instead proceed on College Drive.

County road signs advising caution remained in place yesterday.