By Scott Sieber
The Metropolitan Transit Authority recently announced its intentions to replace the 66-year-old roadway deck with a sleeker, more durable surface called epoxy aggregate, a material designed to combat potholes.”It's a relatively new technology,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels spokesman Frank Pascual. “We've done maintenance and upgrades over the years, but now is the time to replace it. This will provide significant strength, reducing the dead load, or the weight on the cables. This is going to add decades of service life.”Pascual said the bridge sees about 120,000 commuters per day and its reconstruction will round out at about $136 million. The roadway replacement is part of the MTA's capital program, which is designed to rehabilitate the city's infrastructure, said Pascual. Similar roadway replacement methods were used last year during the rehabilitation of the Throgs Neck Bridge connecting eastern Queens and the Bronx.The bad news for frequent users of the bridge is that construction, scheduled to begin Tuesday is expected to take a year.”One lane of the six-lane bridge will be closed around the clock for demolition and installation of the new deck,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Michael C. Ascher. “The temporary movable median barrier we have already installed will allow us to operate the remaining five lanes during rush hour so that the peak or most heavily traveled direction has three lanes open and the two lanes in the other direction. There is no way to make it painless, but we believe this design will reduce congestion as much as possible for our customers.”According to the MTA, the movable barrier will favor Bronx-bound traffic with three lanes during the morning rush and reverse the flow with three lanes open to Queens for the evening rush.To avoid congestion, the MTA recommends travelers use the Throgs Neck or Triborough Bridges whenever possible.Reach reporter Scott Sieber by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
