A continuing construction project on the Route 35 Bridge is hurting business and creating a traffic nightmare at the Jersey Shore in the height of the summer season.

The construction project shuts down a lane on the bridge on the southbound side heading from Brielle into Point Pleasant Beach. Some tourists complain that it is causing a lot of traffic to build up as people head to the beach.

“It was backed up all the way almost into the town of Manasquan. Backed up, stopped dead,” says Denise Lupo.

Jenkinson’s Boardwalk spokeswoman Toby Wolf says that no one has been able to get an answer from the state Department of Transportation as to why the project, which started this spring, is taking so long.

Wolf says that she continues to get complaints from people who are visiting the boardwalk and the beach.

“It's their day off, and it's time they set aside to have family time, and traffic can really cut into that,” she says.

The mayor of Point Pleasant Beach tells News 12 New Jersey that he reached out to NJ DOT to try to get a work schedule so that he can try to warn people trying to get into town and the businesses on the other side of the bridge. He says that so far he hasn't heard anything back from officials.

“If it's possible, do it in the evenings. If it wasn't something an immediate concern, after Labor Day,” Wolf says. “Anything that can help people get around the island."

A spokesperson for the DOT did tell News 12 that the agency did not authorize the closure of any lanes on the bridge and does not have any scheduled projects in that area. The DOT is investigating why these delays are happening.