River Plaza Residents on Hubbard Closure

Cesario Guzman can't wait until he can drive up Hubbard Avenue to Nutswamp Road and directly to his teenage son's soccer games and practices at Thompson Middle School — normally a short, five-minute drive.

Since late August, when the retaining wall holding back Shadow Lake collapsed and a resulting water main break carved a crater-like sinkhole in Hubbard Avenue's southbound lane, the resident of the River Plaza section of Middletown has mapped out two alternate routes to get Gabriel, 15, to the soccer field.

Guzman, of Applegate Street, has observed water company workers on the job after dusk when he walks his dog on Hubbard Avenue. He's pleased with the progress, but  is looking forward to being able to use the road when he drives Gabriel to those soccer games and practices at Thompson.

Car trips to the middle school and to Middletown South, where Gabriel plays for the soccer team, usually takes ten minutes, Guzman said. Using either of two alternate routes that he's mapped out, the trip takes 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic.

"We use [Hubbard Avenue] a lot, but now getting [to Thompson] takes longer," Guzman said. "Plus, a lot of Gabriel's friends live around Navesink River Road and Nutswamp Road."

Sometimes, the Guzmans take West Front Street east into Red Bank, where they  turn north onto Rector Place before going over the Cooper Bridge to Route 35 and back into Middletown. Then they they take the jughandle to Navesink River Road west to Nutswamp Road, essentially backtracking to the school.

At other times, they travel about three miles west on West Front Street to Middletown-Lincroft Road north to reach the fields off Dwight Road.

Either way its a long roundabout, gaz-guzzling trip for everyone in River Plaza.

"It's affecting all of the kids especially the ones who used to just walk to River Plaza [Elementary] School," Guzman said. "All the kids have to be bused."

On the opposite side of Shadow Lake, Nutswamp Road resident Izola Fix struggles through gridlock to get to and from the Garden State Parkway at Exit 109 on weekdays. What used to be a five-minute trip to the interchange is also now 20 to 30 minutes depending upon the time of day.

"With all the school buses, parents driving their children to school, and people trying to get to work, everyone has to make alternate plans to get to their destinations on time," Fix said.

Ongoing construction on Bridge Avenue in Red Bank and the now-removed detours on Middletown-Lincroft Road complicated her commute.

"It seems like everywhere we turn, something is going on," Fix said. "I know our mayor and his staff will do everything possible to (push for a) fix (to) the problem, but the real question is how long?"

At the request of Middletown Mayor Anthony Fiore and Interim Schools Superintendant Patrick Houston, Curley arranged to have district school buses use a private, one-mile stretch of Normandy Road — a federal Navy road otherwise completely restricted from public use and traversed solely by Naval Weapons Station Earle personnel.

The buses to River Plaza Elementary School, Thompson and Middletown South have been traveling the government-owned roadway between West Front Street and Nutswamp Road since schools opened on Sept. 6.