Route 34 daily left lane closures necessary as the Bridge over the Edgar Felix Bikeway project advances in Wall
Closure needed for installation of permanent DMS signs
(Trenton) – New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced temporary daytime lane closures on Route 34 in both directions as the Route 34 Bridge over Former Freehold and Jamesburg Railroad/Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway replacement project advances in Wall, Monmouth County.
Beginning Monday, September 21 from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., and continuing daily, Monday through Friday for approximately two months, NJDOT’s contractor, Green Construction, will close the left lane of Route 34, in both directions, between Allenwood Road and Allaire Road. The lanes will be reopened to traffic each afternoon.
The closure is approximately two miles north of the Route 34 Bridge over the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway and is necessary to install guiderail and a permanent Dynamic Message System (DMS) sign.
During this stage of construction, there also will be utility and drainage work, construction of a new culvert beneath the existing Route 34 Bridge over the bikeway, demolition of the outer portions of the bridge deck, and bridge widening.
The Route 34 Bridge spans the 5.5-mile Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway between Baldwin Place and Ridgewood Road and Allenwood Road and 18th Avenue. The bike path underneath the bridge at those locations is closed and detoured to ensure the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians. Work will be scheduled to minimize the duration of the bikeway detour to the maximum extent possible. A permanent Dynamic Message System sign will be erected in the area of Allenwood Road for safety and information messaging. The bridge is approximately one-quarter mile south of Atlantic Avenue.
The $9.7 million federally-funded project will replace and widen the Route 34 Bridge over the Former Freehold and Jamesburg Railroad, which is now the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway. It also will lower the profile of the roadway to improve the sight distance. Currently, the road has two 10-foot lanes in each direction with two-foot shoulders. The new bridge will have two standard 12-foot lanes in each direction and 10-foot wide shoulders. A new culvert will be constructed under the bridge to accommodate the bike path. The project will be constructed in stages to minimize the impact on the public and is expected to be completed by the spring 2021.
Variable Message Signs (VMS) will provide advance notification to motorists of traffic pattern changes associated with the work. The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors.
Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for real-time travel information and for NJDOT news follow us on Twitter @NJDOT_info or on the NJDOT Facebook page.
If you have any questions, please contact Vanessa Meades, Regional Coordinator of Community Relations, NJDOT-Office of Community and Constituent Relations at (609) 963-1982.
Thank you,
New Jersey Department of Transportation
Office of Community & Constituent Relations
1035 Parkway Avenue, P.O. Box 600
Trenton, NJ 08625-0600
