Punxsutawney Phil didn’t confuse just himself and the public with his forecast, but Mother Nature, too, as winter and spring temperatures have collided around the Long Beach Island region with 15-plus degree differentials recently. That uncertainty ends where the roadwork on Route 72 begins, a clear reminder the clock is ticking on road improvement projects ahead of the region’s busy season.

Since Feb. 21, that work has included an independent maintenance project where Route 72 East in Stafford Township…