MTA set to repair Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge 

Most work expected to happen during non-peak hours

The MTA board approved a $249 million plan to keep the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in good repair.

The project was discussed during a board meeting June 23 and approved two days later.

President of MTA Construction and Development Jamie Torres-Springer said the repairs will be through the installation of an innovative main cable dehumidification system.

“It’s a new system for us, but it has become a widely accepted method of preventing steel cable corrosion around the world,” he said. “We will be able to install the system on our two other suspension bridges as well, so it will be fully dehumidifying the entire bridge system for the MTA.”

The selected team finished the dehumidification system for the Port Authority on the George Washington Bridge. The MTA is also installing it on the suspension portion of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.

“We will be able to install the system on our two other suspension bridges now, so we’ll be fully dehumidifying the entire bridge system for the MTA,” he said.

The dehumidification systems would be installed on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge’s four suspension cables.

“Essentially all of those wires that are bound up inside those cables suffer from corrosion over time,” Torres-Springer explained. “It’s humidity that really accelerates the corrosion, so the goal is to get us back to under 40 percent humidity within that tightly bound cable and keep it there. If we do that, we’re extending our useful life.”

According to the Staten Island Advance, a spokesperson said lane closures are necessary for this project, but most of the work will happen overnight. They also told the outlet any closures that are necessary during weekdays will be limited to off-peak hours and the project would start in 2026.

Construction of the bridge began in August 1959, and the upper level opened to traffic on Nov. 21, 1964. The lower level opened on June 28, 1969.

The MTA states that on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, there are 220,000 daily vehicle crossings, of which 30,000 are bus riders.