Say goodbye to those Manhattan-bound lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge, because they won't be back until at least 2014. The $500 million project will keep Manhattan-bound lanes closed from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays, 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Saturdays and 12:01 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Sundays. As if that weren't enough, for 24 weekends during the construction period there will be 53-hour (11:00 p.m. Friday to 6:00 a.m. Monday) closures of the Manhattan-bound lanes. All the Manhattan-bound love will be over at the Manhattan Bridge.
The project will cost the city just $286 million, with the remaining funds coming from the federal government and the stimulus bill. Mayor Bloomberg notes that this is the first construction project on the bridge in about a decade, and that the project will employ hundreds of New Yorkers. And for anyone confused as to how to drive into Manhattan, the DOT published this brochure [PDF] of traffic changes in the area.
