UPPER EAST SIDE — The FDR Drive on-ramp at East 73rd Street will be closed for nearly a month for utility work at the new Memorial Sloan Kettering and Hunter College complex.
Starting Tuesday morning through Friday, June 3, the ramp will be closed Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to hospital officials.
Northbound traffic on York Avenue will be diverted to use the FDR on-ramp at East 79th Street and those driving south on York Avenue will be directed to the on-ramp at East 63rd Street, officials said.
NYPD traffic enforcement officers will be on site during the closure to direct traffic, and cars will still be allowed to park in the parking garages on East 73rd Street.
The work is being done as part of the on-going construction of the new Hunter College Science and Health Professions Building and the Memorial Sloan Kettering David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care going up at East 74th Street, between York Avenue and the FDR Drive.
While the street is closed, construction crews will connect the sewer line that runs along the FDR Drive to the new facility and connect it to the electrical grid, according to Denise Goodman, a spokeswoman for Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Jackhammers will be used to drill into the street to reach the utilities. If noise becomes a problem, residents are asked to reach out to the hospital's construction phone line or to their elected officials.
Residents were concerned about the construction causing congestion back when the project was proposed in 2012.
Overall construction work began last year and is expected to be completed by 2019, according to officials.
Residents with complaints or questions can call 212-639-4444.
