During an oppressive heat wave – as we experienced over the Fourth of July weekend – it’s always nice when you can hop aboard a boat for a quick easterly voyage to enjoy the cool ocean breezes. Regrettably, some boaters were unable to that over this holiday weekend, others couldn’t even return to port when the railroad bridges over the Manasquan and Shark rivers were stuck in the down position.
Due to extreme heat conditions, the two railroad bridges were locked in a down position over periods of the holiday weekend in an effort by NJ Transit to help prevent heat-related mechanical issues. These particular bridges over critical inlet waterways where the North Jersey Coast Line runs between Manhattan and Bay Head are too low for most boats to pass underneath, which restricted many anglers from heading out or returning home at various points of the holiday weekend.
On the Point Pleasant Canal, the Lovelandtown Bridge connecting motorists between Point Pleasant Borough and Bay Head was also stuck in the down position, forcing many large boats to turn back, despite U.S. Coast Guard regulations typically giving marine traffic the right of way.
“We were able to negotiate a 12 o’clock opening on July 3rd, we went out at 6 a.m. and had to be in the inlet by 11:30 to get in by noon,” said Greg Hueth of the Big Mohawk III head boat out of Belmar. “Unfortunately a few of the other boats went out in the morning and they came back in for the 8 o’clock that night on July 3rd and the bridge didn’t open until the next morning at 6:45, because we had a thunderstorm come through that night and they decided they weren’t going to open the bridge that night,” said Hueth.
Because of that, some Shark River head boats had to spend the night in the Shark River, but only after unloading passengers in ad hoc fashion along docks east of Route 35, a good distance from the actual Belmar Marina port on the west side of Route 35.
“New Jersey Transit has to have some kind of accountability here moving forward,” Hueth added.
Senator Jim Holzapfel (R-Monmouth, Ocean) criticized NJ Transit leadership for closing a busy railroad bridge over the Manasquan River during a busy holiday weekend, stranding boaters and creating a severe decline in revenue for local businesses, including the recreational fishing industry.
“The closure of the railroad bridge over the Manasquan River during one of the busiest boating weekends of the summer stranded countless boaters all because NJ Transit failed to have an adequate contingency plan and provide timely notice,” said Sen. Holzapfel, adding “While no one can control the weather, extreme heat is a known challenge for New Jersey Transit, and that’s exactly why the agency should have been prepared before problems arose. Instead, boaters were left waiting for hours and valuable revenue was lost during one of the most important weekends of the year.”
Sen. Holzapfel went on to say “Our shore communities deserve an agency that plans ahead, communicates clearly, and does everything possible to minimize these avoidable disruptions.”
Back in 2024, NJ Transit’s Board of Directors approved a contract to initiate the conceptual and preliminary design phases of the Brielle Drawbridge Replacement Project to replace the existing 100-year-old single-track movable bridge with a new two-track movable bridge over the Manasquan River. Phase one is expected to finish in 2027, with the entire project set for completion by 2031.
