Brooklyn Bridge to Go on Hiatus For First Time in 20 Years

Maintenance on the Brooklyn Bridge beginning in the summer of 2010 will close it off to Manhattan-bound traffic on weekends for six months. The bridge's arches and steel-wire will be freshly painted and repairs will be made on corroded and crumbling approaches, ramps and anchorages. The entire project will take over four years, beginning this June when one lane will be shut down during off-peak hours. The project will cost somewhere between $200 and $500 million, the first of its kind since the '80s and one that has been delayed for years due to budgetary constraints. A 2006 report deemed the bridge in poor but structurally sound condition, something that came even more into focus after the structural collapse of a Minneapolis bridge in 2007 led to 13 deaths. The DOT tells the Post that federal funding will be involved with the project.