The Light at the End of the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge: Green on Right on Red?

Summer is almost over and one traffic relief request that was on Rumson and Fair Haven mayors’ wish lists for the season is not likely to be granted before its end.

The two mayors, and really wanted to see the “no right on red” restrictions lifted from signs at traffic lights at either foot of the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge going into Sea Bright from Rumson and vice versa.

"Aug. 15 was the date (by which we were supposed to hear) from the state Department of Transportation (DOT), which has passed without hearing any result, Ekdahl said. "We will try to wake somebody up there."

Ekdahl's hope for more prompt was backed by Lucarelli. "We hope that the state acts promptly on the Rumson and Sea Bright requests to have the 'no right on red' suspended at the foot of the bridge," Lucarelli said. He added that while Fair Haven has no jurisdiction over the bridge, its residents are impacted by the traffic flow and the governing body does wholly support the request of its neighbors and has done so by resolution.

It’s been a long-known wish upon a state agency.

“We’ve been working with the DOT for five years to get the ‘no right on red’ sign removed from the entrance to Sea Bright from the (Rumson-Sea Bright) bridge (and the other side going into Rumson from northern Sea Bright),” Ekdahl said in a recent interview.

Especially in light of the peak summer season and , the mayors think the signage has placed an undue traffic burden upon both towns.

Calling the signage, at a meeting in May, the singular root of summer traffic congestion in the Rumson-Fair Haven area, Ekdahl last week said a stream of vehicles is sometimes backed up all the way to Rumson’s Bellvue Avenue, a couple of miles west of the bridge, because of it.

He said he had been waiting to hear from the DOT for months on the matter, after both boroughs’ governing bodies passed resolutions supporting the change. Sea Bright did the same.

The resolutions were forwarded to Monmouth County, since the roads involved are county roads, and the DOT, since the bridge and traffic lights are under DOT jurisdiction.

“… The prohibition of a right turn on a red traffic signal at these intersections impedes the flow of traffic to and from Rumson and Sea Bright, especially during peak seasons, it also causes delays with the opening and closing of the bascule span … of the bridge,” Rumson’s resolution said.

It also specifically “urged” the DOT to “act quickly to remove them in time for peak traffic during summer season.”

In the meantime, the signs are still there and traffic gets snarled during peak hours, when the bridge opens and closes and the light freezes up the flow.

When do you think the request will be granted, if at all? Click on the poll above or leave your comments on the issue in the comments section below