Final Phase of Route 35, 36 Construction Begins Friday Night

The final phase of the Route 35, 36 intersection in Eatontown will begin tonight according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT).

NJDOT Spokesman Timothy Greeley said the Route 35 northbound travel lanes will be placed into their permanent new alignment through the intersection with Route 36 this weekend.

Greeley said a newly reconfigured Route 36 westbound ramp to Route 35 northbound will be opened as well.

The new traffic pattern for the long-running, $15 million road project is expected to be in place by early Saturday morning, he said.

During this final stage NJDOT’s contractor, Joseph DeFino Trucking Company, will construct a new loop ramp to connect Route 36 eastbound traffic to Route 35 northbound and complete final median, sidewalk and surface pavement work throughout the project limits. 

Construction on the project began in April 2010 with the purpose of realigning and widening the existing intersection to "improve operational performance, reduce congestion and enhance safety," he said.

Major milestones completed at the intersection to date include:

• The relocation of Wall Street at the southeast quadrant of the intersection

• The extension of the existing left-most (third) lane on Route 36 eastbound through the traffic signal at the Motor Vehicle Commission building.  This lane previously had ended approximately 800 feet east of the intersection causing an unsafe merge and bottleneck condition for traffic. 

• The permanent closure of the Route 35 southbound jughandle ramp to Route 36 eastbound. Two new dedicated left-turn lanes at the intersection now provide Route 35 southbound motorists with direct access to Route 36 eastbound

• A new ramp connecting Route 35 northbound to Route 36 eastbound has also been opened to traffic. This ramp is an improvement on the old one and features a new deceleration lane on Route 35 northbound and a new acceleration lane leading onto Route 36 eastbound, providing motorists with safer merge movements.

• Route 35 southbound travel lanes were shifted onto a new, permanent alignment through the intersection with Route 36 in December 2011. A new connector ramp from Route 36 eastbound to realigned Route 35 southbound was also opened while the existing ramp was closed removed.

Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for construction updates and real-time travel information.