Milling and paving of Ocean Avenue will take place between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the coastal communities of Bradley Beach, Avon, Belmar, Spring Lake and Sea Girt. No work will be performed on weekends.

The $2.28 million resurfacing project will be completed in time for Memorial Day weekend, the start of the County’s summer tourism season.

The first phase of the work will begin in Avon on the north side of the County’s Shark River Bridge (W-43) and continue north to Fletcher Lake in Bradley Beach. The anticipated construction schedule for the week of April 18 is as follows, weather permitting:

• Monday, Apr. 18: Avon (Shark River Bridge) to Bradley Beach (Fletcher Lake) - milling and paving
• Tuesday, Apr. 19 and Wednesday, Apr. 20: Avon and Bradley Beach – milling and paving
• Thursday, Apr. 21 and Friday, Apr. 22: Avon and Bradley Beach - striping

“Improving Ocean Avenue is critical to these coastal towns,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to Public Work and Engineering. “Each municipality did a great job completing the infrastructure improvements needed to reach the point where the County’s contractor can resurface the road. The County will do everything within its power to minimize the temporary inconvenience due to the repaving.”

In addition to closing sections of Ocean Avenue, local roads within a block of Ocean Avenue will be closed temporarily for brief periods. Municipal police will be present and signage posted to detour local traffic, ensure safety and avoid congestion. Local residents will continue to have access to their homes and mail deliveries will not be interrupted.

“Ocean Avenue is one of the shore’s most heavily traveled roads, particularly in the summer,” commented Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso. “There are a tremendous number of visitors who come for the day or spend an entire week enjoying the beach. The County, municipalities and contractor are aware how important it is for this project to be completed before Memorial Day. We anticipate a great summer at the shore and repaving Ocean Avenue benefits everyone.”

The resurfacing project includes milling, repaving and restriping of Ocean Avenue and constructing sidewalk curb ramps. All five of the coastal communities have completed local infrastructure improvements and repairs in advance of the County’s repaving project.

“Multiple meetings with towns to plan and coordinate the paving schedule were held to limit the impact on these communities,” explained Arnone. “The disruption will be short-term, but the long-term benefit to homeowners, businesses and visitors makes this project extremely important. All work will be completed before the start of summer season on Memorial Day weekend.”

Spring Lake Borough Administrator Bryan Dempsey thanked the County for its cooperation and coordination of the project. “The County was extremely helpful in working with Spring Lake and addressing its issues. This is an important undertaking for all the towns along Ocean Avenue and it wouldn’t be possible without everyone working together. The County staff went out of their way to understand and solve any potential problems that may be encountered and a relatively smooth transition is anticipated.”

The project’s contractor is the Stavola Contracting Company based in Tinton Falls. Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering is overseeing the logistics of the project.

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