Christie Kicks off Route 35 Reconstruction in Ocean County

Gov. Chris Christie kicked off the reconstruction of a 12 mile-long stretch of Route 35 in Ocean County Tuesday afternoon, also announcing that the federal government would foot 80 percent of the $260 million project's cost.

Joined by state Department of Transportation Commissioner James Simpson in front of the Seaside Park municipal building, which sits between the north and southbound lanes of Route 35, Christie said construction would begin within the next two weeks and would be completed by the summer of 2015.

The project, which was announced in February, will cover the stretch of the roadway up and down the bulk of Ocean County's northern barrier island from Bay Head to the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township.

The new highway will be 24 inches thick, said Simpson, including asphalt pavement and the stabilizing sub-base materials. That represents an improvement over the current highway, the northern portion of which mainly consists of concrete slabs laid directly over sand.

The highway will also include significant drainage improvements, said Simpson. The road will be contoured so water will drain into inlets on either side. An electrical pumping system will then collect the rainwater, purify it by removing suspended solids, then pump it into Barnegat Bay.

Later this month, said Christie, work will begin in Bay Head. Then, in August, work will begin from Brick to Berkeley.

"We're all going to need to work together to minimize the inconvenience while all this is going on," said Christie, to a crowd that had assembled on the borough hall's lawn. "But there will be some inconveniences. You need to be ready for that. You don't build [12 miles] of highway without there being some inconveniences, but we think we put together a plan along with your local officials that will minimize the inconveniences as much as possible."

Christie said the project, which had been in the works prior to Superstorm Sandy's arrival, was slated to take six years to complete, but it will now take just two years.

Simpson said at least one lane in each direction will be open at all times during construction. Reconstruction work will be performed in relatively small sections, with alternating traffic patterns within the work zones.