Traffic Alert: MTA Opens New Belt Parkway Ramp To Verazzano-Narrows Bridge

The MTA opened a new ramp connecting the Belt Parkway to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge today — which now requires Staten Island-bound motorists to use the highway’s right lane, rather than the left, to enter the bridge’s lower level.

Electronic and fixed signs will be in place advising drivers about the new traffic pattern.

“As with all new traffic patterns, it may take motorists several weeks to get used to the change. During this time we ask them to be alert and heed the signs,” said Director of Bridges South, William McCann, who oversees day-to-day operations at the Verrazano-Narrows and MTA’s two Rockaway bridges.

The new ramp is part of the $84.3 million project to construct a new lane for buses and high-occupancy vehicles (HOV) that will eventually connect to the Bus/HOV lane on the Gowanus Expressway.

“These two projects will greatly improve traffic flow and regional mobility for this busy corridor,” said Verrazano-Narrows Facility Engineer David Riggs.

Both the new Bus/HOV ramp on the Brooklyn side of the bridge and the new seventh lane are expected to be completed by 2017.

Watch a cool video of the construction project in progress here.