UPPER EAST SIDE — A large portion of the FDR Drive will be closed overnight starting this weekend to accommodate construction at the East 91st Street marine transfer station and at Rockefeller University, officials said.
The highway, from 61st to 96th streets, will be closed to traffic in both directions on Saturday from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. and on Sunday from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m., according to the Department of Transportation.
The southbound entrance ramp at 125th Street and northbound entrances at 34th, 48th and 62nd streets will also be closed during those hours.
Drivers going north will be directed to exit at the 61st Street ramp and take First Avenue up to 96st Street to re-enter the highway.
Those going south will be directed to exit at 116th Street and use Second Avenue to get back on the FDR at 79th Street.
The highway, from 61st to 96th streets, will close again on Wednesday, June 15 from 12:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. to work being done at Rockefeller University.
The southbound entrance ramps at 125th, 116th, 92nd, 79th and 73rd streets and the northbound entrance ramps at 34th, 48th, 62nd streets will also be closed during that time.
Additionally, the southbound off-ramps on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge and the Third Avenue Bridge will be closed.
Drivers heading north on the FDR can exit at 61st Street and to take First Avenue and get back on the highway at 96th Street.
Those heading south will be directed off at 96th Street and down Second Avenue until 42nd Street, where there will be a temporary entrance ramp to the FDR.
Drivers coming from the Third Avenue Bridge will have to take Lexington Avenue to the temporary 42nd Street ramp.
Leading up to the closures, the DOT will close one lane in both directions at 11 p.m. and then close a second at 11:30 p.m. There will be delays around the work zones, DOT officials said.
Work will continue in July and the DOT will issue updates if more closures are needed.
Both projects are being constructed over the FDR, according to the DOT.
Work on the highly-contested 10-story marine transfer station started in 2013 and is expected to be completed by 2020.
Rockefeller University is extending its campus with its new Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Research building along the East River, and developing the East River Esplanade just south of East 64th Street to East 68th Street. The project is slated to wrap up in 2019.
