The Outerbridge Crossing will be closed overnight through October as the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey replaces pavement in order to improve traffic safety and driving conditions on the bridge.
During that time, the bridge that links Perth Amboy to Staten Island, N.Y., will be closed Monday to Thursday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and from 11:59 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday.
The bridge will be open on Saturday and Sunday nights and holiday weekends.
After Labor Day, the bridge will close at 9 p.m. on weeknights and open at 8 a.m. on Saturday mornings.
All traffic will be diverted to the Goethals Bridge, where there will be additional staff to handle traffic during these hours.
Route 440 south in Staten Island will be closed right before the entrance to the Outerbridge Crossing, and detour signs will direct traffic to the West Shore Expressway and the Goethals Bridge.
Local street traffic will be directed to Boscombe Avenue and back onto West Shore Expressway towards Goethals Bridge.
In New Jersey, access to the Outerbridge Crossing from Route 440 north will be closed. Detour signs will direct traffic back onto Route 440 south via State Street toward the Goethals Bridge, using the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike.
The Outerbridge Crossing was built in the late 1920s. The toll plaza concrete slabs were installed in 1977, and the spans were repaved in the early 2000s, according to the Port Authority.
Both of these surfaces have reached the end of their useful lives, and the work is required to keep the roadways in a state of good repair and to ensure travel safety, the agency said.
Closing the bridge overnight will allow the bridge to remain open in both directions during 2014, when construction is expected to take place on the Bayonne Bridge, Pulaski Skyway and Verrazano- Narrows Bridge.
This is the first of three projects for the bridges connecting Staten Island and New Jersey. Future projects include replacing the Goethals Bridge and the raising of the Bayonne Bridge roadway to allow for larger ships to pass through to the ports.
The three Port Authority projects combined are expected to generate approximately 5,000 jobs, $600 million in wages and $2.5 billion in economic activity in the region.
For travel alerts, sign up for e-alerts at www.paalerts.com, call 511 or visit www.511ny.org or www.511nj.org.