AVON-BY-THE-SEA/BELMAR — The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has announced the implementation of a free shuttle service that will transport passengers between Avon-By-The-Sea and Belmar while the Main Street bridge undergoes emergency repairs.
The NJDOT states that there is no bridge reopening date currently set, and no exact timeline for the completion of repairs.
The shuttle bus operations began on Tuesday and will continue until the bridge reopens. A “small shuttle bus/van” will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, making stops along Main Street in Avon at Sylvania, Washington, Jefferson and Garfield avenues, as well as in Belmar, according to a NJDOT press release.
It will be available to travelers until the bridge reopens to vehicle and pedestrian traffic, once repairs are completed. The bus holds 20 passengers, is Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible and has the capacity to carry bicycles.
The shuttle bus will operate the same path as when it was implemented last year. The route begins at the Belmar train station and runs in a continuous loop, traveling on Route 71/Main Street northbound in Belmar and back down River Road to Eighth Avenue before crossing over the Shark River on Route 35.
From there, the shuttle bus will take the Sylvania Avenue exit and travel down Route 71/Main Street southbound in Avon-By-The-Sea to Washington Street, Station Street and Jefferson Avenue before going back up Route 71/Main Street northbound to Sylvania Avenue across the Route 35 bridge over the Shark River back to Belmar, the NJDOT said.
The pick-up/drop-off locations will be denoted by a NJDOT “shuttle bus” sign at each stop.
In Avon, the bus will stop at Main Street and Sylvania Avenue; Main Street and Washington Avenue; Jefferson Avenue and Main Street; and West Railroad Avenue and Seventh Avenue.
In Belmar, it will make stops at West Railroad Avenue and 10th Avenue (Belmar train station); Main Street and 10th Avenue; Main Street and Eighth Avenue; River Road and Main Street; and West Railroad Avenue and Seventh Avenue, according to the NJDOT.
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