And then there was one.
The Department of Transportation has started work on the Jackie Robinson Parkway that will lead to one-lane closures over the next six weeks.
On March 19, the DOT began a weeklong project of daytime closures of one lane of the parkway underneath the Myrtle Avenue Bridge to prep for their work. They are repainting and adding new protective coatings to the bridge, which currently may contain lead in some of its paint.
Once the prep work is over on March 25, there will be a six-week nighttime project on the parkway, where the actual repainting will take place. This means that one lane will be closed at a time, at night on Sundays through Thursdays from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., Fridays from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
This is part of a bigger project where the DOT Division of Bridges is cleaning and reapplying protective coatings to various bridges in multiple locations within the western Queens area. There are a mixture of commercial and residential neighborhoods in the eight locations where the work will be done. This will require careful monitoring and environmental oversight because the paint they are removing may contain lead, according to the DOT.
The main portion of the project will be the removal of coatings, cleaning and repainting the full bridge in different stages. The DOT will have workers in HEPA suits removing paint that may have lead in it with abrasive blasting. This method uses compressed air to blast off paint from the structure, according to the city agency.
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