Drivers Face First Night Of Closures As Major Resurfacing Project Begins On FDR Drive
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Drivers faced their first night of closures as a major overnight resurfacing project got underway Monday on the FDR Drive.
According to Department of Transportation officials, the project will include about half of the entire surface of the FDR from the Battery up to the Robert F. Kennedy Triborough Bridge.
The repairs will be done on various sections and will involve at least one lane closure each night, officials said.
"In order to expedite that, we have to shut down one or two lanes from time to time," said DOT road crew member John Rodriguez.
The work is happening between 11 p.m. an 6 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Crews will be putting down the new surfaces immediately after they dig them up to avoid drivers having to deal with even rougher surfaces.
"We're going to mill and pave the same night so there won't be any milled areas left open for the most part," said Deputy Transportation Commissioner Galileo Orlando.
But some have wondered why the project hasn't been started until now.
"Part of the reason the work hasn't been done on it, it is it's extremely difficult to do logistically cause it's also carrying 150,000 vehicles a day," said Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.
The project will cost an estimated $11 million.