By Lauren Wanko
NJ Today
A steady stream of cars drove the entire stretch of Route 35 through Mantoloking this morning for the first time since Sandy ravaged the Ocean County community.
A section of the state highway has been off limits to drivers with the exception of residents, police and emergency personnel since the storm.
“It’s a big day for both Mantoloking and the Barrier Island. People can now travel the length of 35 from Point Pleasant to Seaside Heights,” said Mantoloking Special Counsel Chris Nelson.
It’s a welcome relief to locals eager to get back to their typical pre-Sandy commutes.
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“That’s huge because now you can get right to the 37 bridge, the Seaside Bridge. So that opens up a lot of opportunities, otherwise it’s just terrible to get around,” said Bay Head resident Joseph Stuzynski.
“I couldn’t understand why they opened the other end and not this end but now I can see it’s pretty bad,” Brick Township resident William Fridel said.
Safety and security remain the top priority. There’s a heavy police presence, access to side streets is restricted to residents and contractors only and a town curfew is still in effect.
“Everybody could use the highway so come on down and drive through. Just don’t stop, don’t park, don’t leave the highway because if you go into our residential areas that’s when all our rules will be enforced, like trespassing, parking,” said Lt. John Barcus of the Mantoloking Police Department.
The reopening marks another milestone in the rebuilding and recovery phase and a sense of normalcy residents so desperately long for.
When asked how important that normalcy is, stuzynski said, “Terrific! It makes you feel like a town again.”
“Route 35 is really just the artery to the Jersey Shore. I mean everybody knows Route 35. When it reopened this morning, you see all the traffic on it. People are doing what they need to do,” Nelson said.