Rector Place Repair Slows Oceanic Bridge Detour

For about a month now it’s been an issue for anyone who dares to enter Red Bank from Middletown via West Front Street at any point during the working day.

A line of traffic assuredly awaits you, and wait times do, too, sometimes of up to half an hour stuck on the bridge over the Swimming River.

Head this way any time after 4 p.m. and it’s not an issue, but for any time from around 8 a.m. to the late afternoon you’ll encounter gridlock, and it’s all thanks to the road work being done on Rector Place.

Rector, though home to a residential neighborhood, normally serves as a traffic sieve, funneling off vehicles making their way both to and from from Route 35 to Shrewsbury Avenue. Now, it’s been cut off.

Another problem is that now drivers must encounter two traffic lights in Red Bank instead of one, forcing drivers to turn at the intersection where parking lots for the Wawa center and Galleria already see lots of action.

Then, of course, there’s the nearby train station, which causes all kinds of traffic problems when NJ Transit trains run on through.

An officer at the scene said the daily street shut down has been going on for about a month and, though work is steady, there’s no official word about when the work will finally be completed.

The roadwork only adds to the headaches for those looking to travel from Middletown via Red Bank or other adjacent towns. With the Oceanic Bridge closed until around Memorial Day, drivers are forced to detour down Route 36 from the Rumson area past Sandy Hook through Highlands or along the already congested Route 35, or West Front Street into the section of Middletown.

Take heed and plan ahead.