By Liz Sheehan
Local residents were given a view of the county’s proposed changes to Rumson and Sea Bright roads when the 66-year-old bridge that connects the two towns is replaced.
On June 8, Monmouth County held two public meetings, one in Sea Bright attended by 50 people, the other in Rumson with 30 people, where maps of Rumson Road and Route 36 were placed on easels to show the public the proposed changes in the traffic patterns on the streets.
“Hopefully,” Monmouth County Engineer Joseph Ettore said at the Sea Bright meeting, ”the bridge will be fully funded by federal dollars.”
The new bridge will be located slightly to the south of the present one.
The existing bridge will be open during most of the construction work, scheduled to begin in 2020.
Presentations about the changes were made by several of the professionals involved in the planning of the project, but no questions were answered until they concluded. At that time members of the public were told they could ask questions about the proposals while referring to the plan displays.
One proposal that appeared on the displays, placing a cul-de-sac at the intersection of Old Rumson Rd, Ward Ave. and Rumson Rd. is no longer in play. County officials said that proposal was dropped because of objections to it by those attending previous public information sessions.
Two new proposals are being considered for the intersection. One calls for making Old Rumson Rd. a two-way street, with a direct connection to the bridge approach. The other solution is to keep it a one-way street, as it is now.
At the Rumson meeting, two residents of the West Park section of Rumson, where the intersection is located, said they were against making Old Rumson Rd a two-way.
“I think it would be terrible,” Lois Hannay said, if the road was two-way.
On the Sea Bright side of the bridge, changes will be made at the traffic signal, which will be moved south to the new bridge’s approach. The entrance and exit of the Sea Bright Beach Club will also be moved so it will become part of the signalized intersection. The Chapel Beach Club’s parking lot access will also be moved south.
The county’s plan includes purchasing the property on Ocean Avenue formerly occupied by a Sunoco station, south of Old Rumson Rd. in Sea Bright, to provide access to the Nautilus Condominiums. The plan would also provide parking spaces to Dunkin’ Donuts and Oar Fitness, which will lose spaces when the bridge is moved.
State regulations do not permit left turns in or out of Old Rumson Rd. on to Ocean Ave. which is just south of the property where Dunkin Donuts is located. Only right hand turns from Ocean Ave. into and out of the property can be made through Old Rumson Rd, so the former Sunoco site is planned to be used for left turns to enter and exit the property.
However, the former Sunoco property has been purchased by another party so the county will have to negotiate for it.
Paul Brown, a historic consultant for the county, said he had found two archaeological sites in the area near the bridge, one prehistoric and the other from a home built there in the late 1800’s.
Brown said when there is federal funding for a project a search must be made for any artifacts.
He said that small chips of stones that might have been from tools and pieces of pottery most likely from cooking or storage vessels were found on the prehistoric site.
Brown said indications were that the area was a prehistoric Native American camping site.
The scheduled date for the completion of the new bridge is in the spring of 2023. But it could be earlier. Laura Fitzpatrick, director of public information and tourism for the county, said Wednesday that with the final touches, the new bridge should be in service in 2021.
The construction phase of the new bridge, which will be built alongside the older one, is scheduled to begin in 2020.
Written comments on the project will be accepted until Friday, July 8 by the county. More information on the bridge proposal can be obtained by going to the county website, visitmonmouth.com. Click on “County Bridge & Road Projects” on the right side of the home page, and then click on “Rumson & Sea Bright-Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge.”
