More Rumson Road Work, Delays As Bridge Project Continues

RUMSON, NJ — The Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge replacement activity for this week is scheduled through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., weather permitting, according to updates from Monmouth County.

Vehicles and pedestrians should plan extra travel time to allow for delays due to bridge replacement and approach roadway construction activities, according to the update, the county said in its latest advisory. Police suggest checking the advisory website for information.

In Rumson:

• Ward Avenue, from Rumson Road to the Holy Cross parking lot, will be closed and detoured through Saturday, Dec. 17, to perform roadway reconstruction at the intersection of Ward Avenue and Rumson Road. There will be access to the Holy Cross parking lot.
• Travel along Rumson Road, from approximately Tennis Court Lane to the bridge, will be reduced to one lane of alternating traffic from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Police officers will assist with traffic control.

In Rumson and Sea Bright:

• Two bridge pile deliveries are scheduled per day through Friday.
• Uniformed police will assist with traffic control during the deliveries.
• Deliveries will be scheduled between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to avoid school drop- off and pick-up times. If the schedule changes based on field conditions, delivery may be after 3 p.m.
• For safe passage of all, the traffic delivery pattern involves temporary disruption of vehicle and pedestrian movement over the bridge and may affect traffic flow on Ocean Avenue (Route 36) in Sea Bright and Rumson Road (County Road 520) in Rumson.

During lifting and moving of the bridge pile to the trestle in the river, both travel lanes and sidewalks will be closed for approximately 10 minutes. During staging of the pile deliveries, vehicle traffic across the bridge will be alternated in the westbound lane and the eastbound sidewalk will be closed.

• Additional bridge pile deliveries are anticipated every week, weather permitting. With each delivery, vehicles and pedestrians may expect temporary lane and sidewalk closures as noted above.
• Bridge openings for marine traffic will not be affected by the pile deliveries.

On the Shrewsbury River:

• Work activity will continue in the water south of the bridge on both sides of the river.
• The navigational channel width has been reduced from 75 feet to 65 feet. The reduction is expected to remain in effect until fall 2023.

The Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge Replacement Project will construct a new bridge to replace the existing bridge built in 1950 that was approaching the end of its useful life. It has structural and functional limitations that do not meet today’s design standards, the county has said.

The bridge is considered an "important transportation link for the local communities and the region that also serves as a coastal evacuation route," the county says.