Metro

City to rebuild Ocean Avenue bridge over LIRR

The city will rebuild an Ocean Avenue bridge over a little-used Long Island Rail Road freight line between Avenues H and I.

The bridge over the Bay Ridge branch of the LIRR will be reconstructed top and bottom, with workers tackling one side of the street at a time, according to the Department of Transportation.

Two-way traffic on the busy stretch will be maintained at all times, the city said, with traffic funneled into one lane and parking eliminated on the side where work is occurring.

“It’s going to hurt traffic a bit but it’s something that has to be done,” said Joe Basso, the co-chairman of Community Board 14’s Transportation Committee.

The sidewalk will also be closed on one side of the street during construction, with a five-foot-wide protected walkway provided for pedestrians, according to CB14.

Work was originally scheduled to begin on Jan. 3, with construction to be completed by the fall, but last month’s blizzard has delayed the project.

A new start date is yet to be scheduled.

hklein@cnglocal.com