Loop Pkwy Repairs Rescheduled for Next Friday

Major repairs to the Loop Parkway Drawbridge that were schedule to start Friday morning were postponed until next week.    

The New York State Department of Transportation, which owns and operates the bridge, planned to close the parkway for five days, from 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 15 to 7 a.m. on Oct. 20, but due to inclement weather and predicted high winds for Thursday and Friday, the DOT decide to delay the work until next Friday.

"We know it's an inconvenience but fortunately there are others bridges that motorists can use," said DOT spokeswoman Eileen Peters, referring to the Long Beach Atlantic Beach bridges as alternative routes to the mainland of Long Island. "We waited until after Labor Day, after the busy summer months, to do this work."

Electronic road signs announcing the postponement were stationed on Lido Boulevard, at the Lido Beach and Long Beach border, and near the drawbridge that spans the Jones Beach Inlet.

The repair work was rescheduled to start at 10 a.m. on Oct. 22 and continue to 5 a.m. on Oct. 27, but could be cancelled again due to stormy weather. Long Creek Channel access will remain open to mariners.

Peters said that the bridge must undergo preventive maintenance repair that, if delayed, may have a long-term negative impact on the 75-year-old bridge's operation.

"We did as much preliminary work as we possibly could last spring when we had night closures of the bridge," Peters said. "And we had it re-inspected and we have to reinforce the steel that holds a huge counterweight that weighs about 50,000 tons. That's what allows the bridge to open and close. And we need to keep the bridge in the open position the whole time to get at the gut."

The bridge is the busiest drawbridge in New York State, if not the entire East Coast, opening between 5,000 to 6,000 times annually, according to the DOT. "So it gets a lot of use, a lot of wear and tear, for a 75-year-old bridge," Peters said, adding that an average of 30,000 vehicles used the bridge daily.  

For 24/7 up-to-date traffic and travel information, motorists should call 511 or visit www.511NY.org or www.INFORMNY.com, and on their hand held communication devices at www.INFORMNY.mobi.