Bridge Detour Causes Headaches, Prompts Emergency Fears

It isn't easy to get on – or off – Ocean County's northern barrier island these days, at least from mainland Toms River.

Traffic heading onto the island is routed into Seaside Park, then must traverse the entire length of Seaside Heights before entering Ortley Beach near the easternmost end of of the highway.

It's a similar situation exiting the island from Ortley Beach and points north, where detours change almost daily, roadways are clogged with work trucks and heavy machinery, and traffic must skip the quick route off and go traffic light to traffic light in Seaside Heights until the southern bridge entrance at Hamilton Avenue.

All of the the detours are a result of the state's $265 million Route 35 reconstruction project, which will result in a new highway from Bay Head to South Seaside Park, as well as utility upgrades, water pumps to reduce flooding and upgrades to the bridge approaches.

Some residents at Tuesday's Toms River Township council meeting said they feared for their safety during the construction process. What would normally be a drive of a few minutes over the Route 37 bridge to the mainland has turned into a four mile-long detour, adding potentially crucial minutes to a trip – and that's if one were to choose a road that wasn't closed on a given day, or be blocked by trucks.

Ambulances and fire trucks could have a tough time navigating the streets, some residents say.

"We have meetings on it almost daily," said Toms River Township Engineer Robert Chankalian. "The [Department of Transportation] has put in, pretty much, a roving schedule. Unfortunately it's still a problem, but they did schedule it in the winter time."

Toms River Patch calculated the extra time required to get around the detour. We drove from the Ortley Beach A&P to the Xina sushi restaurant. Both businesses are located at either end of the Route 37 span.

It took 4.1 miles and 10 minutes, 16 seconds to cross, with no traffic.

Route 35 near the A&P store is completely closed and torn up. Gigantic mounds of dirt tower into the air as crews have been replacing utility piping.

Officials with the state Department of Transportation say the bridge detours will last about four months from when they started Sept. 9. The detours on Route 35 in Ortley themselves will continue through May, at which points all of the highway's lanes will be open for the influx of summer traffic. Construction on the entire Route 35 project will likely last until Summer 2015.

Toms River Council President George Wittmann said Tuesday that he will request Police Chief Michael Mastronardy write up a report on the best ways for emergency vehicles to access Toms River's barrier island neighborhoods during the four month detour period.