Although rumors have been circulating that the Sunset Avenue Bridge project between Wanamassa and Asbury Park is ahead of schedule, a bridge project manager said last week that is not necessarily the case.
“You are never ahead of schedule until you open,” project superintendent Mark Timari said.
He said that the original reopening date remains the same, May 27, just before Memorial Day weekend.
“We should be open by Memorial Day and that is what we are shooting for right now,” he said.
Timari said that the weather has been good and that the recent snow storm had little impact on slowing the project down.
“There were no glitches that slowed us down. But, we still have sidewalks, power, concrete walls, road work, and drainage work to do yet. So there is still quite a bit of work to be done,” he said.
“But I am optimistic we will hit the Memorial Day weekend mark,” he said.
Ocean Township Mayor Christopher Siciliano said he still hopes the project will be completed ahead of schedule.
“That would be the icing on the cake if that were to happen,” he said.
He said that perhaps good weather could advance the project.
Donna Logdon, owner of Sunset Landing, right next to the bridge in Asbury Park, said she is going to hold a big bridge reopening party once it is done.
“But only for my regular customers who saw me through all of this,” she said.
Logdon said the bridge closing “totally crushed” her business and that she lost parking.
