By Michele J. Kuhn
RED BANK – Monday has the potential to be a traffic nightmare in the borough.
The closing of the railroad crossing on Broad Street, aka Route 35, is expected to cause what police have termed “a mess” with traffic being detoured away from the site. The closure will begin at about 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, and continue until 7 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27. Borough officials are hoping the maintenance work will be completed a little ahead of schedule and that the area will not have to be blocked off any more time than planned.
“The weekend will be manageable,” Red Bank Police Chief Darren McConnell said. “But on Monday, we’re expecting heavy delays …it’s going to be a mess.
“Hopefully, the work will be done by Monday. Even it’s not done by Monday, the traffic won’t be as bad because people will have changed their routes from Monday by Tuesday,” McConnell said.
The busy area is being shut to traffic due to maintenance work being done by NJ Transit.
According to Nancy Snyder, a NJ Transit spokeswoman, crews will be inspecting the track and making repairs or replacing equipment as needed.
“It necessitates the closure of the area,” she said. The work was scheduled to cause the least disruption possible and will be completed “in the least amount of time possible.
“We are doing this work in a way to minimize the amount of disruption to our customers and those in the community,” she said.
The Red Bank police are advising motorists to find alternate routes to avoid the area, if possible.
Traffic intending to bypass Red Bank and Shrewsbury should divert onto Shrewsbury Avenue. Northbound traffic should use Shrewsbury Avenue from the Shrewsbury-Eatontown border; southbound traffic should divert onto Shrewsbury Avenue upon entering Red Bank from Middletown. Detour signs will be posted.
Local traffic will be able to access all businesses in Red Bank and Shrewsbury but cannot traverse the crossing.
In Red Bank, traffic will be diverted from Broad Street onto Bergen Place eastbound and westbound to circumvent the area while traffic in Shrewsbury will use Sycamore Avenue and/or Newman Springs Road.
While borough police sent out notices to larger employers warning them of the impending closure and set out “a record-breaking number” of variable and static signs during the past few weeks to warn motorists, McConnell knows that many drivers have not really noted the details nor made alternative route plans.
It will take getting stuck in traffic Monday to really get the message across to many drivers, he said.
Part of the issue is that the area infrastructure can’t handle the traffic that will be diverted from the impacted area, he said.
In addition to delays on the roads, NJ Transit is also expecting delays on its rail line because of the track work.
According to a passenger advisory, the transportation agency said, “During this time, all inbound and outbound trains will arrive on track 1 (the outbound track). Please allow for extra travel time as customers may experience between 15 and 30 minute delays, particularly on Monday during evening peak hours … We thank you for your patience and apologize for any inconvenience.”
Rail customers were also advised to check the borough’s website at www.redbanknj.org. For additional information, contact NJ Transit Customer Service at 973-275-5555 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily or visit njtransit.com for updated information.
McConnell said the last time he recalls the railroad crossing being closed for any length of time was in 2001.
Businesses Unhappy with Road Closure
By Heather Muh
Local stores are sure to feel the impact of the Broad Street/Route 35 closing this weekend.
With Halloween quickly approaching, employees of Party Corner, which specializes in costumes and party supplies and is located just feet from where the closure will occur, is worried that their busiest weekend of the year is going to be severely affected by the closing.
According to manager Jeannette Golembieski, the weekend prior to Halloween is when they get the most business.
“Halloween is planned for a full year,” said Maria Flynn, the general manager, who went on to explain that all of the store’s purchases for the holiday are done as early as January. Something the store did not plan for, however, are the huge traffic detours that are to occur this weekend.
“No one said anything to us,” Golembieski said.
She said that she had seen a few signs but was unaware of the severity of the situation. “Someone should have told us so we could tell our customers.”
Golembieski and Flynn plan to put floodlights and signs in the store’s parking lot to make sure their customers know they are still open.
“It’s going to be bad. People are going to be frustrated,” Golembieski said. “Halloween weekend … They couldn’t have waited for a slower weekend?”
Across the parking lot from Party Corner, Dunkin Donuts is also preparing for the detours and delays. Manager Luis Nonoal said the same intersection was closed a few years ago.
“It’s very bad when you close 35, but part is still open,” said Nonoal. He believes that, because the roads will not be completely closed off, business will only be cut by 20 or 30 percent.
