# Hobart Ave closed over Rt. 24



## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

The guy said the bridge is unsafe. No idea how long it will be like that. There are no great alternatives, south to Summit Ave into Summit, or North via Springfield Ave.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

DrSmile said:


> The guy said the bridge is unsafe. No idea how long it will be like that. There are no great alternatives, south to Summit Ave into Summit, or North via Springfield Ave.


That's a shame that was a good route. Have not been that way in awhile as I usually ride west or even south instead of north. I think you could go through South Mountain Reservation and into Milburn then cut follow that into Springfield.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

NJBiker72 said:


> That's a shame that was a good route. Have not been that way in awhile as I usually ride west or even south instead of north. I think you could go through South Mountain Reservation and into Milburn then cut follow that into Springfield.


That would be Springfield Ave/Broad Street. It's pretty heavily trafficked and has little to no shoulder. Like I said there are no good alternatives. I'm going to try Morris Turnpike to South Terrace going back North but that's going under 24 with NO shoulder on a 2 lane highway and then requires an illegal left turn. I have to cross 24 to get to West/South. I think we already talked about riding the same areas.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

DrSmile said:


> That would be Springfield Ave/Broad Street. It's pretty heavily trafficked and has little to no shoulder. Like I said there are no good alternatives. I'm going to try Morris Turnpike to South Terrace going back North but that's going under 24 with NO shoulder on a 2 lane highway and then requires an illegal left turn. I have to cross 24 to get to West/South. I think we already talked about riding the same areas.


Yeah. I used to ride up that way from the Florham Park gym. I would get to Florham Park via Chatham. Fair amount of traffic but manageable.


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## jmoryl (Sep 5, 2004)

Odd, I just went across that bridge a couple days ago. If you are going from Short Hills to Summit, you can take 124 west to Summit Ave. and go into Summit that way. The alternative Summit to Short Hills would suck.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

I don't know of any way to get to the Summit Ave crossing except to ride on the shoulderless highway which has some nice sized potholes on the right. Did it today and it sucked. The good news is that on the way back I rode down Morris Turnpike through the underpass and as it's downhill I was able to keep up with traffic cranking as fast as I could (45 mph! I found a use for the 50x11!). Keep cranking through the underpass because the merge of the two lanes is on an uphill and if you get lucky you can get a good start up South Terrace. There were quite a few cars making the left turn too.

The bad news is that they now put concrete barriers across the overpass, and they were painting them when I rode by, which to me indicates that the road will be closed for months to years...


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

DrSmile said:


> I don't know of any way to get to the Summit Ave crossing except to ride on the shoulderless highway which has some nice sized potholes on the right. Did it today and it sucked. The good news is that on the way back I rode down Morris Turnpike through the underpass and as it's downhill I was able to keep up with traffic cranking as fast as I could (45 mph! I found a use for the 50x11!). Keep cranking through the underpass because the merge of the two lanes is on an uphill and if you get lucky you can get a good start up South Terrace. There were quite a few cars making the left turn too.
> 
> The bad news is that they now put concrete barriers across the overpass, and they were painting them when I rode by, which to me indicates that the road will be closed for months to years...


You could cross earlier at Main St (actually before 24 starts) or at Broad St. I would not really want to go to Summit Ave., either.

After that I would probably go up to Passaic Ave or Brooklake Road in Chatham.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

NJBiker72 said:


> You could cross earlier at Main St (actually before 24 starts) or at Broad St. I would not really want to go to Summit Ave., either.
> 
> After that I would probably go up to Passaic Ave or Brooklake Road in Chatham.


Passaic Ave is the only real option, but it's also very busy and I'd have to take Parsonage Hill Rd to get back east, which is also a very poor road to ride on. Main and Broad intersect at Morris Ave, which is essentially a highway and you'd have to ride on the highway without a shoulder for quite a while. 

Anyways enough complaining by me, I'm just going to suck it up and ride to Summit Ave on 24 on the way South and South Terrace on the way back up. It may be a busy alternate route but it's busy for the shortest distance.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

Found out what apparently caused the damage:

Construction Equipment Falls Onto Car, Causes Delays In Short Hills « CBS New York


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## nsd (Sep 3, 2014)

If going near Gero Park, you could possibly go North on Summit Ave. to Morris Ave., turn right towards the mall, enter the mall at the first entrance, and follow Canoe Brook Road across the mall, through the fire connector drive, and end up near Gero Park to the West of White Oak Ridge Rd.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

I actually tried that the first day the bridge was closed. Canoe Brook Road requires a long stretch of highway to get to, and the closed section of Canoe Brook is littered with glass shards. I wouldn't recommend it.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

It's officially open again!


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