New road work begins along Route 34 Bridge in Wall

It's not going to be a fun drive through Wall this fall or next fall.

Nearly two weeks after we learned that bridge replacement work was beginning on Route 34 in Wall, we find out there's a new addition to the construction.

Today the New Jersey Department of Transportation announced the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway, that runs beneath the Route 34 in Wall, Monmouth County, will be closed and detoured as the bridge replacement project advances.

Work will begin at 7:00 a.m., tomorrow, Tuesday, October 8, and continue through the fall, 2020, as NJDOT’s contractor, Green Construction, will close and detour the 5.5-mile paved Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway in the area under the bridge to ensure the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians during construction.

Here are the detours you need to know about.

Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway Westbound Detour

• Bicyclists wishing to travel west on the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway will be directed to turn right onto Wall Township Bike Path
• Turn left onto CR 524/Atlantic Avenue
• Continue on CR 524/Atlantic Avenue to just past Ramshorn Drive where the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway reopens

Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway Eastbound Detour

• Bicyclists wishing to travel east on Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway will be directed to turn left onto Allenwood Lakewood Road/CR 524/Atlantic Avenue
• Continue on CR 524/Atlantic Avenue for approximately one mile
• Turn right onto Wall Township Bike Path

The $9.7-million federally-funded project will replace the Route 34 Bridge, built in 1935, over the Former Freehold and Jamesburg Railroad, which is now the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway.

The project will replace the bridge and widen it, as well lower the profile of the roadway to improve the sight distance.

The road currently 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 also 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 fall of 2020.

Variable Message Signs 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.

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