STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Port Authority plans to completely close Bayonne Bridge this weekend to facilitate work on the Raise the Roadway construction.
The around-the-clock closure would begin Friday, March 20, at 9 p.m. and would continue through Monday morning, March 23, at 5 a.m. But the work is weather dependent and there is a chance that Friday’s snowfall could postpone the closure until next weekend, according to Port Authority Spokesman Chris Valens.
The Port Authority is scheduling the full closure to allow for the delivery and positioning of strengthening plates for the main span and allow crews to continue the erection of the New York and New Jersey towers.
The Port Authority has been employing 20-minute traffic holds and off-peak closures lately to move large pier segments – the support for the new span – in place with a sliding gantry crane. Because of the weight of the segments being hoisted overhead, the procedures require lane closures.
Raise the Roadway is the PA’s $1.3 billion project to lift the bridge’s span 64 feet — from 151 feet to 215 feet — within the confines of the bridge’s current arch.
The elevated span will allow for modern ships to travel under the bridge and will provide commuters with new, 12-foot lanes, shoulders, a median and a 12-foot shared bike and pedestrian path.
