The shuttles are still a free ride, Long Beach Township Commissioner Joseph Lattanzi pointed out, though they will each feature a suggested donation box. (The suggested donation will probably be $2.)

Lattanzi – who developed the program a few years ago in partnership with the Long Beach Island Chamber of Commerce and the other Island municipalities, and with support from Capt. Paul Vereb of the township police department – said he anticipates no significant changes to the shuttle schedule this year. A late-night bus, though, may get a trial run.

For the Memorial Day weekend, hours are as follows: Friday, May 27, 3 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, May 28, and Sunday, May 29, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Monday, May 30, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

From May 31 through the end of June, the hours are: Fridays 3 to 11 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sundays 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

For the remainder of the summer, the shuttles will run full-time, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The shuttle runs north up Long Beach Boulevard and then to Bayview Avenue past Viking Village and to the lighthouse in Barnegat Light. Going south, the buses follow the Boulevard into Beach Haven, then take Centre Street to Engleside and Atlantic before returning to the Boulevard to head to Holgate.

Individuals wishing to ride the shuttles, which are air-conditioned and handicap accessible, are advised to wait on any corner of the Boulevard and flag down a bus. Wait time is typically five to 20 minutes. The app will help cut down on the wait, as users can determine in real time exactly where each shuttle is located.

As Lattanzi has noted previously, benefits of the shuttle service include that “it reduces the number of cars in the summer; it reduces drunk driving at night; it helps promote businesses … helping people move around and increase commerce; and it will also serve a secondary purpose for emergency management.”  —J.K.-H.

Please be aware that the speed limits on Long Beach Boulevard have been reduced as of this morning, May 9th and the traffic lights will be back on this Friday, May 13th. Although this change traditionally happens at a later date, we’re happy for another sign of summer!

“While we can’t say for certain the exact cause of current traffic delays, rubbernecking is often a problem in situations like this when drivers slow to look at the ongoing work,” Kevin Isreal, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said.

Westbound traffic on the existing bridge, which is also experiencing bumper-to-bumper delays, will be shifted to the new bridge later next week, Israel noted. One lane will be opened initially, and the second lane will open the following week.

“Full summer traffic patterns will be resumed with two lanes of traffic in both directions on the new bridge by Memorial Day,” Israel stated.  —K.A.E.

Betcha you didn’t spend much time watching the Weather Channel last summer and fall. After all, the 2015 Atlantic Basin hurricane season was a relatively mild one. There were only 11 named storms and four hurricanes, just two of which cracked the Category 3 threshold. That was below the 1981-2010 average of 12.1 named storms and 6.4 hurricanes, including 2.7 of the major variety (Cat 3 or above).

Additionally, most of the storms stayed far out in the Atlantic. New Jersey was threatened by only one hurricane, Joaquin, which twice reached Category 4 status, in early October. Luckily Joaquin swerved to the northeast and had little direct impact on the United States. Joaquin, however, did cause Long Beach Island considerable economic damage, with Chowderfest weekend canceled for the first time ever, due to a state of emergency ordered by Gov. Christie.

The below average season had been predicted. A strong El Niño was expected to develop – and did – over the eastern Pacific, which typically indicates a mild Atlantic Basin hurricane season. Indeed, the famed Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project headed by Phil Klotzbach and the late William Gray (who passed away on April 16) called for just seven named 2015 storms and three hurricanes, just one of which would be Cat 3 or above.

There’s not going to be a strong El Niño this year, which makes forecasting more difficult. But the CSU team’s April forecast remains fairly conservative.

“We anticipate that the 2016 Atlantic Basin hurricane season will have approximately average activity,” wrote Klotzbach in the forecast’s introduction. “The current weakening ElNiño is likely to transition to either neutral or La Niña conditions by the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season”(June 1 to Nov. 30).

So don’t panic about the 2016 hurricane season. On the other hand, don’t forget what channel the Weather Channel occupies on your cable or satellite system.

— Rick Mellerup

Eastbound traffic on the Route 72 bridge was expected to be shifted to the newly constructed bridge Friday. Traffic heading westbound was planned to be reduced to one lane on the existing bridge. This work was delayed from last week due to weather and altered to permit uniform openings on the multiple contracts throughout the project.

Next week, the DOT expects to move all traffic to the new bridge with two lanes running in each direction as crews work to restore traffic patterns to their summer alignment. This shift will permit work to be done on the existing bridge, which will be closed to traffic. Upon completion of the rehabilitation work, that bridge will accommodate westbound traffic.

Summer traffic patterns are expected to be fully restored by mid-May.

Work on the $350 million Route 72/Manahawkin Bay Bridge project was started in 2013 and is expected to continue through 2020. The 3-mile-long Causeway links Stafford Township on the mainland with Ship Bottom on Long Beach Island, but is structurally deficient and functionally obsolete after 57 years in existence.

The new bridge, at 2,400 feet long with a vertical clearance of 55 feet over Manahawkin Bay, will ultimately function as the bridge for eastbound traffic when the project is finished.

The DOT plans to maintain two travel lanes in each direction during busy summer seasons, from mid-May to mid-September, throughout daytime hours and weekends, officials stated. The contractor is allowed single-lane closures overnight and during the off-season, but one lane will always be maintained in each direction.

The new bridge parallel to the existing one over Manahawkin Bay will provide another route on or off the Island in the event that one of the bridges needs to be closed. This design is consistent with Christie administration objectives to build in strength or redundancy to better withstand future storms, the DOT noted.

The existing Causeway sustained relatively minor damage during Superstorm Sandy, but future storm damage is a concern because it provides the only way for motor vehicles to get on and off Long Beach Island.  —K.A.E.

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