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WESTCHESTER, N.Y. -- A bit of a reprieve for morning and evening commuters on the Taconic State Parkway. The state Department of Transportation had planned to close the northbound AMVETS Bridge Sunday night to begin long term construction, but it was delayed until Monday evening due to the rain.
Construction on the bridge over the New Croton Reservoir, which is expected to continue until November, will completely shut down northbound Taconic lanes from Pines Bridge Road in New Castle to Underhill Avenue in Yorktown.
The New York State Department of Transportation spent the previous week preparing the parkway for the extra traffic that will soon be re-routed to the southbound lanes.
The three-and-a-half mile stretch of parkway will be four lanes wide with a concrete barrier between two lanes in each direction. Over the bridge, the speed limit has been lowered to 35 miles per hour and lanes have been reduced from 11 feet to 9 feet.
During the project - especially during the first two weeks - police officers from different municipalities will be in the Traffic Command Center in Hawthorne, as well as on the road.
In order to avoid major backups, officials are hoping to shed as much as 2,200 cars in the morning and evening commutes to alternate routes, such as Route 9, Route 100, I-684 and the Saw Mill River Parkway.
State DOT spokesperson Sue Stepp said officials will be monitoring traffic on the Taconic as well as on alternate routes to alter traffic lights on the usual routes Taconic drivers may take to avoid the traffic.
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