New york, NY - September 13, 2014 - MTA Bridges and Tunnels said today the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge’s $50 million toll plaza improvement project has moved into the next stage of construction, giving motorists longer merge points on two Brooklyn-bound ramps and restored access to both the upper and lower roadways from the Narrows Road South ramp.
In addition, during this stage of work the Staten Island Expressway HOV lane will end just before Fingerboard Bridge Road while contractors reconstruct the area where the old eastbound toll plaza once stood.
The changes during this stage of work will be subtle but positive for drivers. “Motorists who use the Brooklyn-bound Lily Pond and Narrows Road South ramps will have both a longer merge lane and time to decide what level of the bridge to take as that decision point will be moved closer to the upper and lower level roadway split just before the bridge,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels Engineer Project Manager Piv Lim.
Drivers using the Narrows Road South ramp to Brooklyn will also once again have access to both levels of the bridge, said Lim. Since June drivers using that ramp only had access to the upper level of the bridge.
Contractor Restani Corp., of Queens, is continuing to work on rehabilitating the northern section of the original toll plaza roadway to accommodate traffic that no longer has to stop, and adding new lighting and a new roadway drainage system.
The project, which is about 85 percent completed, is scheduled to be finished by summer 2015. Since work began in 2011, the Narrows Road South and Lily Pond Avenue Brooklyn-bound ramps have been completely reconstructed, and a new, two-lane lower level connector ramp from the Staten Island Expressway has been added. The work was completed while maintaining all current lanes of traffic.
Work on MTA Bridges and Tunnels’ toll plaza improvement project is being done in close coordination with New York State Department of Transportation’s Staten Island Expressway Access Improvement project.