The public will have an opportunity to review final plans for the new Mantoloking bridge during an information center at Mantoloking Borough Hall Aug. 14.
Representatives from the Ocean County Department of Engineering and its consultants will be available from 4 to 7 p.m. to answer questions about the new bridge. Detailed schematics and plans for the new span will be on display, along with artist renderings of the bridge.
"We want to give local residents a detailed look at the bridge before construction begins," Freeholder James J. Mancini, liaison to the engineering department, said in a press release.
Construction of the new $20 million bridge is expected to begin by December, Ocean County Engineer Ronald A. Lotrecchio said.
The county is in the final stages of acquiring permits for the project, which will be paid for entirely by the federal government.
The existing bridge, which was built in 1938, will remain open until the new span is completed in the fall of 2005, Lotrecchio said.
A 4-ton weight limit will remain in place on the existing bridge, he said.
The new span, to be built just north of the existing bridge, will boast a 30-foot minimum clearance over the water, compared to the existing 15-foot clearance, Lotrecchio said. Plans call for a double-leaf bascule drawbridge with a much higher clearance than the existing bridge.
The bridge will also have an 80-foot-wide channel, compared to the existing dual 30-foot channels, Lotrecchio said.
"Thanks to these improvements, more than 75 percent of all vessels will be able to pass under the bridge without the need for a bridge opening," Lotrecchio said.
Freeholder Director John C. Bartlett Jr. said the long-awaited new bridge will be a benefit to both motorists and boaters.
"Whether you are traveling by boat or by car, there will be fewer delays once this bridge is completed," Bartlett said.
The number of yearly openings is expected to drop from 6,000 to less than 2,000, Lotrecchio said.
Once the new span is completed, a portion of the old bridge on the Brick side of the channel will be converted into a fishing pier. A rendering of the fishing pier will also be on display at the public information center.
County and borough officials are also reaching out to local residents who may have old photographs of the bridge and surrounding waterways.
The bridge is eligible to be placed in the National Register of Historic Places. In an effort to preserve the historical significance of the span, a display of photographs chronicling the bridge and the northern Barnegat Bay will be placed in Borough Hall.
Anyone wishing to donate photos for the display is asked to contact the Ocean County Department of Engineering at (732) 929-2130.