Update on Brooklyn Bridge Work: Why It’s Taking So Long

By on August 18, 2010 1:27 pm in Government, Transportation

In response to my earlier post giving a schedule of closures of the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan-bound auto traffic over the next four years to accommodate repair and repainting work, several readers asked: Why not just shut the Bridge down completely and get the job done in a few months’ time? A bit of research provided this answer: DOT did consider complete bridge closures. Among the many reasons for their decision in favor of partial (Manhattan-bound only, and only during off-peak hours or weekends) closure was an analysis of average daily trip figures that showed the peak hour traffic volumes that would be diverted from the Brooklyn Bridge cannot be accommodated on the Williamsburg/Manhattan/Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel crossings, in addition to their current loads.

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  • T.K. Small

    I just heard a rumor that they’re going to put down gravel on the bridge.

  • Obama?

    @ T.K.

    Please don’t give them any ideas! You never know what could happen. LOL!

    Wow, 4 years is a long time!

  • Obama?

    @ T.K.

    Please don’t give them any ideas like that! You never know what could happen. LOL!

    Wow, 4 years is a long time!

  • Henry

    An absurd answer. If the bridge was shut down totally, many would stop driving into Manhattan and use public transportation. Please remember, the Brooklyn Bridge is basically single car commuter traffic.

    I walk the bridge during rush hour and see very few multi-passanger cars.

  • Obama?

    May I add to Henry’s comment that most of the vehicles I see on the bridge are indeed occupied only by the driver, & many of them are huge S.U.V.s, no less! An gigantic wast of resources.

  • Arch Stanton

    It would be better to shut it down for 6 months and get it over with, short pain… I agree with Henry, the other crossings and people taking mass transit could absorb the load…

  • Andrew

    If it’s going to suck, I’d rather it suck more for a shorter period of time. 6 months of complete closure would be annoying, but as opposed to four years of needing to know whether or not it’ll be open in whichever way you need to go? This is going to suck.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    Andrew: when closed, it will always be closed in the Manhattan-bound direction. It will always be open to Brooklyn-bound traffic.

  • nabeguy

    A question Claude. If they’re only closing the Manhattan-bound traffic, are they only working on one side of the bridge?