Legislator Ford warns residents of Barnum Island Bridge work

The southbound side of Long Beach Road on the Barnum Island Bridge will be reduced to one lane on May 17 and 18 between the hours of 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., according to Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford, due to necessary construction.

Significant traffic is expected during those times, Ford added, and residents are urged to take an alternate route if possible.

The heads-up comes after an unexpected lane closure by PSE&G due to an emergency repair earlier this month, which congested the bridge with little warning to residents.

The bridge was built in 1925 and reconstructed in 1988. It was inspected six years ago and found to have structural problems, Mary Studdert, Nassau County Department of Public Works spokeswoman, told the Herald last year. The county then instituted a reduced-load limit for vehicles of 20 tons as a temporary safety measure.

Construction to completely rebuild the northbound and southbound spans of the bridge began on Dec. 2. The project’s cost is about $8.32 million, with $5.92 million to be reimbursed by the federal government. As expected, the southbound side is being rebuilt first, as traffic has been diverted to a portion of the other span. The bridge, Studdert said last week, is expected to be complete by April 2018.

Ford has told the Herald that the county would look to minimize congestion on the bridge during the summer. In response to the latest traffic, she said spoke with the county’s Department of Public Works, along with PSE&G and its contractor, who will be working at the location until June.

“The contractor does not anticipate any lane closures going forward, and will notify this office and the office of DPW prior to any unforeseen event which results in closing lanes,” Ford wrote to the Herald in an email. “Therefore, we can alert the residents to help minimize the impact on traffic.”

NOTE: The dates in this story have been updated.