Route 35 Info Session Scheduled for Tuesday

Members of the public are invited to learn about the impending Route 35 reconstruction project during a Tuesday information session.

Scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Lavallette Elementary School gym at 105 Brooklyn Ave., the meeting aims to inform local property owners about the state Department of Transportation’s plans in the area, according to officials.

The project, which was announced in February, will cover the stretch of the roadway up and down the bulk of Ocean County's northern barrier island from Bay Head to the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township.

During a press conference last week in Seaside Park, Gov. Chris Christie said construction should be completed by the summer of 2015.

The new highway will be 24 inches thick, said Simpson, including asphalt pavement and the stabilizing sub-base materials. That represents an improvement over the current highway, the northern portion of which mainly consists of concrete slabs laid directly over sand.

The highway will also include significant drainage improvements, said DOT Commissioner James Simpson last week. The road will be contoured so water will drain into inlets on either side. An electrical pumping system will then collect the rainwater, purify it by removing suspended solids, then pump it into Barnegat Bay.

Later this month, said Christie, work will begin in Bay Head. Then, in August, work will begin from Brick to Berkeley.

The governor cautioned that motorists should be ready to face “some inconveniences” during the construction, but officials will work to minimize issues.

Christie said the project, which had been in the works prior to Superstorm Sandy's arrival, was slated to take six years to complete, but it will now take just two years.

Simpson said at least one lane in each direction will be open at all times during construction. Reconstruction work will be performed in relatively small sections, with alternating traffic patterns within the work zones.

With reporting from Patch Senior Field Editor Daniel Nee.