Overnight Road Work In Store As Route 72 Projects Prepares For Hiatus

SHIP BOTTOM, NJ — Expect overnight lane closures on Route 72 in Ship Bottom Monday and additional work in the coming weeks as the Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridges project prepares for the summer hiatus.

Beginning at 6 p.m. Monday, May 20 until 6 a.m. Tuesday, May 21, Route 72 westbound/8th Street is scheduled to have temporary lane closures between Barnegat Avenue and Shore Avenue to restripe the roadway, New Jersey Department of Transportation announced in a news release.

By 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 20, 8th Street traffic will be shifted to the left onto the newly
constructed portion of the roadway with two lanes and a right shoulder. If work is completed early, all lanes will be open sooner. The access road and driveways will be maintained overnight. Once the traffic shift is complete, the majority of work on 8th Street will stop for the summer. In September, work will resume on the right side of 8th Street to install drainage, make curb repairs, and repave the roadway.

Overnight work will continue on 9th Street, Monday through Thursday nights from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day through late June to complete final masonry work and adjustments to the drainage system. Work will be done in sections and at least two lanes will be maintained. No work will be done on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. This minor work may take place on other streets throughout the project, including on 8th Street and some side streets.

In Stafford, work will continue behind construction barrier for a few weeks after Memorial Day near the Marsha Drive intersection. The work will not affect traffic and all lanes will be maintained in both directions. Once this work in Stafford and Ship Bottom is completed, the project will pause for the summer with work resuming after Labor Day.

This final construction contract for the Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridges project is designed to improve safety and reduce congestion in Stafford at the Marsha Drive/Route 72 intersection and in Ship Bottom on Long Beach Island, according to the NJDOT. In Stafford, Marsha Drive will be widened to provide double left turn lanes onto Route 72, and a third lane will be added on Route 72 in both directions near the intersection.

In Ship Bottom, approximately 3,000 feet of Route 72 (locally known as 8th and 9th Streets) and three cross roads (Barnegat Avenue, Central Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard) will be widened. Two-way traffic will be restored along Central Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard. Five traffic signals will be reconstructed, and a new traffic signal will be installed at the intersection of 8th Street and Long Beach Boulevard. In addition, a new storm drainage system and new outfalls will be installed in an effort to reduce frequent flooding along Route 72 and these intersections. For more information NJDOT developed a project-specific website.