By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
INWOOD — A massive construction project on the upper level Henry Hudson Bridge is due to begin in May, according to MTA's Bridges and Tunnels division.
The nearly $33 million three-year project will rehabilitate the Bronx-bound upper level, replacing bridge decking and the original 1930s-installed steel curb stringers that support the top roadway on either side of the 75-year-old bridge.
MTA officials said the project will introduce new energy-efficient roadway lighting, which will replicate the original 1938-style light poles in keeping with the bridge's Depression-era design.
The work will require one Bronx-bound lane of the bridge to be closed at all times of construction while the steel curbs and bridge bearings are replaced and electrical wiring is updated, according to the MTA.
MTA officials said the closure is "expected to have a minimal impact on traffic" due to the introduction of a gateless E-ZPass pilot project at the bridge earlier this year.
Two lanes will remain open during weekday peak travel times while the west lane will be closed for the first year of the construction project. In 2012, the work will be repeated on the east side of the bridge, MTA officials said.
"Motorists will also benefit from the removal of an unused, maintenance sidewalk on the upper level which is closed to the public," read a public statement from the MTA, explaining that the new lanes once open will be widened from 10 feet to 11 feet 6 inches across the bridge.
MTA officials said the lower level pedestrian walkway would remain open during construction.
In 2010 the lower level pedestrian walkway reopened after the MTA spent $8.8 million, out of a total $86 million lower bridge renovation, on its renovation.
Bicyclists were disappointed to learn that despite the costly renovation and previous promise to overhaul the path to make way for cyclists and pedestrians alike, bike riders would still have to dismount and walk their bikes across the bridge.
The bridge connects Inwood to the Riverdale section of the Bronx, carrying approximately 23 million vehicles per year, according to an MTA study in 2010.
