Boulevard Bustling As Project Begins

SEA ISLE CITY – The speed limit along Sea Isle City Boulevard has been reduced to 40 mph due to construction. Also, both the westbound and eastbound lanes will be moving to the south side of the causeway, motorists are urged to be aware of new traffic patterns as they travel between Sea Isle City and Ocean View. Once traffic is shifted, sometime after Nov. 3, concrete construction barriers will be installed to separate travel lanes from the work area.
“Things are happening rapidly on Sea Isle City Boulevard,” county Engineer Dale Foster told freeholders at the Oct. 28 caucus.
He reported that work began Oct. 24 at 6 a.m. on the causeway, and that 4,000 tons of asphalt worth over $300,000 was placed there by 7:30 p.m. The action was aimed at getting a diversionary roadway in place. “They were just rolling through there,” he commented. The surface course of the road was placed Oct. 26, he added.
Work continued Oct. 27. “It is now a matter of getting a guide rail put up where the culverts are and getting it striped. On Friday, in addition to the paving, they were also excavation material out of each end. They had electricians working on the roadway lighting, so there was a ton of activity on that roadway,” Foster said.
Since the project will also change the entrance ramp to Garden State Parkway, Foster said a barrier curb was being placed on the east side of northbound entrance to “start to elevate the ramp.” Plans include widening that ramp slightly so that when motorists are converging east and west there will be more room.
Additionally, the Parkway Interchange 17 northbound entrance acceleration lane will be extended about 1,200 feet, which will roughly double that lane, he said. Traffic mixes in that area, since there are vehicles entering to go into the service area to head southbound as well as others merging into the northbound lane. Thus, there are people getting on and wanting to get off. This will be a “big safety improvement,” concluded Foster.
According to Sea Isle City’s monthly newsletter, the steel sheet piling for the Sunks Creek Bulkhead fishing area was manufactured in early October and is being treated with a coating for marine environment exposure. The sheeting is scheduled to be installed beginning in early November. Once the sheeting is delivered, the Sunks Creek fishing area will be closed to the public.