The newly reconstructed West Front Street bridge, also known as Hubbard’s Bridge, will be closed to all motor vehicle traffic for two weeks beginning Wednesday, August 12 at 6 a.m.
The announcement was posted by Monmouth County officials Friday.
The bridge joining River Plaza in Middletown with Red Bank over the Swimming River had re-opened to traffic mid-May following a $12.9 million renovation that spanned many months. Since then, construction crews have continued to work on the bridge as cars move slowly across the span. But now a full closure is necessary for utility relocation work and intersection reconstruction, they say.
Officials hope the bridge will be re-opened on August 26, prior to Labor Day weekend and the start of the school year.
In Red Bank, on the eastern side of the bridge, the intersection of Shrewsbury Avenue, Rector Place and West Front Street will be closed so the contractor can complete the reconstruction of the intersection. Eastbound traffic will be detoured from West Front Street to Bridge Avenue to State Highway 35 (crossing Cooper Bridge) to Navesink River Road; traffic will then continue to Hubbard Avenue to Carpenter Street to Applegate Street. Detour signs will be posted along the route.
In Middletown, the intersection of Hubbard Avenue at West Front Street will be closed for the reconstruction of the intersection. Westbound traffic will be detoured to Applegate Street to Foster Street to Hubbard Avenue to Navesink River Road to State Highway 35 South (crossing Cooper Bridge) to Bridge Avenue to Monmouth Street to Shrewsbury Avenue.
The new bridge is a 488-foot long steel girder bridge built to the north of the previous West Front Street Bridge, originally scheduled for April 2016 completion, said county offiials.
