Staten Island bound lanes of Outerbridge to close for part of Oct. 23-24 weekend

From the Staten Island Advance: http://www.google.com/gwt/x?source=reader&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.silive.com%2Fnews%2Findex.ssf%2F2010%2F10%2Fstaten_island_bound_lanes_of_o.html

Both Staten Island-bound lanes of the Outerbridge Crossing will be closed to traffic late Saturday Oct. 23 into Sunday Oct. 24, while the bridge undergoes a paving project.

The eastbound lanes will be closed between 11 p.m. that Saturday and 11 a.m. the next day.

Drivers are advised to use the Goethals Bridge as an alternative, or the Holland Tunnel to travel to Manhattan.

According to the Port Authority, a traffic analysis shows the Goethals should be able to handle the additional traffic volume diverted from the Outerbridge, though there may be some delays between 11 p.m. and midnight, and 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

The $225,000 paving contract which covers concrete repairs, about 1,000 feet of asphalt repaving and line striping, was awarded to Tar-heel Enterprises, Inc., based in Morgan, N.J.

The Port Authority will detail extra police and maintenance staff to the Goethals while the Outerbridge is closed, to quickly clear any accidents that occur while the Goethals is flooded with diverted traffic.

The entire Outerbridge was closed earlier this month for a drill simulating a tanker-truck spill, but that closure was limited to the early-morning hours on a Sunday and had little traffic impact, according to a Port Authority spokesman.