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Second Ave. Subway Construction Leads to Upper East Side Lane Closures, Traffic Nightmare

By DNAinfo Staff on July 26, 2010 7:43am

The westbound left turning lane on East 96th Street onto Second Avenue will be closed until 2013.
The westbound left turning lane on East 96th Street onto Second Avenue will be closed until 2013.
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DNAInfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero

By Gabriela Resto-Montero

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER EAST SIDE —  Residents of the Upper East Side along Second Avenue are being hit with a double whammy of subway construction.

North of East 93rd Street, neighbors between East 96th and East 100th Streets will deal with subway construction during the day and utility maintenance work during the nights.

A crane will take up one and a half lanes of traffic on the avenue for an undetermined amount of time while crews reinforce the pavement to secure a manhole at East 93rd Street, said Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the MTA.

The work, which will include the placement of small beams underground and will result in some noise and light disturbances, is being done during off-hours to prevent bottle necking on the street, Donovan said.

"We want to see the least impact on traffic," he said.

While traffic may be saved in the high East 90s, subway construction will result in the closure of the left hand turning lane onto Second Avenue on westbound East 96th Street.

The lane will remain closed until 2013, Donovan said.

As a result of the lane closure, all traffic coming of the FDR Drive will be re-routed to East 97th Street. The diversion will leave just two westbound and two eastbound lanes on East 96th Street at Second Avenue.

All of the rearranging of lanes and exits has had a domino effect along the FDR. The Department of Transportation has moved the southbound East 96th Street Exit 14 north by 500 feet and the closure of the entrance at East 102nd Street.