Belmar Boulevard Bridge Work To Begin

A $1 million bridge repair project on a Belmar Boulevard span is set to begin next month.

The small span on Belmar Boulevard near Route 35 that doesn't even have a name -- it is called only County Bridge W-33 -- is going to be rebuilt beginning Dec. 12, according to signs erected on either side of the small bridge over a portion of the Shark River.

Belmar Boulevard, which runs from Route 35 in Wall west to Farmingdale, will be closed in the area of Route 35 while the project is ongoing.

There was no word early Tuesday approximately how long the road would be shuttered.

The state has given Monmouth County $1 million to repair the bridge over a small inlet of the Shark River, according to the Department of Transportation.

W-33 is one of close to 300 bridges around the state that have made the repair list when the state DOT released $29 million to fix 31 New Jersey county-owned bridges across the state, under the state's Local Aid program.

“This program has already enabled counties to remove 53 bridges from a list of nearly 290 bridges that were rated deficient, obsolete or otherwise in need of repair,” DOT Commissioner James Simpson has said. “These new grants will fund state-of-good-repair improvements for another 31 bridges, promoting safety and optimizing traffic flow.”

The grants are for construction costs only. Seventy-five percent of a grant will be provided to a county upon contract award, with the balance provided upon project completion.

The county Freeholders recently acquired a permanent easement and temporary construction easement from a Belmar Boulevard property owner for $8,500 to complete the repairs, according to county records.