FORT WADSWORTH — The MTA will close a lane of traffic on the upper level of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge starting Saturday as the agency starts the first phase of construction for the upper deck replacement project.
Drivers who need to get on the Belt Parkway on the Brooklyn-bound, upper level of the bridge will have to stay in the left lane because construction will block access from the center lane, the MTA said. The closure will be in affect until summer 2017.
Traffic patterns on the bridge will change depending on the time of day during the construction, the MTA said.
The MTA will use a movable barrier to open three Brooklyn-bound, upper level lanes from 5 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and three Staten Island-bound, upper level lanes from 2:30 p.m. to 10 p.m on weekdays. On Fridays, the Staten Island lanes will stay open from 1 p.m. to midnight, the MTA said. The movable barrier will start on March 9.
All three lower-level lanes will be open during peak times and lanes on both levels of the bridge may be closed for construction during off-peak times, the MTA said. During the weekend, the upper level will have three lanes going into Staten Island and two lanes into Brooklyn.
The construction is the first phase of the MTA's $235.7 million project to demolish the original roadway on the upper level and replace it with a steel orthotropic deck, which the MTA said will last longer and weigh less. The construction will also add a seventh bus and carpool lane, the MTA said.
