The Alexander Hamilton Bridge, a 1,485-foot span which connects Highbridge in the Bronx to Washington Heights in Manhattan as part of Interstate 95, is receiving a $407 million facelift.

The project, the largest ever taken on by the State’s Department of Transportation’s (NYSDOT), will “benefit the entire northeast corridor, improving safety and relieving congestion,” Governor David Paterson said in a statement last week. While the bridge will remain open, traffic delays are expected.

At the groundbreaking on July 15, officials emphasized two major benefits the project will bring: better infrastructure and new jobs. “This will allow us to continue to put people back to work to re-charge the economy… while improving quality of life by relieving congestion,” said Stanley Gee, the NYSDOT’s acting commissioner.

To combat congestion, the bridge’s pavement deck, which consists of four lanes in each direction, will be expanded to add shoulders allowing traffic to flow past stalled vehicles. In addition, the bridge will be cleaned and re-painted, its steel arch span strengthened, and its drainage components, overhead signs, and lighting replaced.  It’s the bridge’s first major renovation since it was built in 1963.

As part of the same project, the ramps that connect the Cross Bronx and the Major Deegan expressways with the Alexander Hamilton Bridge will be renovated; most will remain open to traffic during construction. Aside from infrastructure improvements, the NYSDOT contract allocates $20 million to enhance Highbridge Park in Manhattan.

Eight million pounds of steel and 70 million pounds of concrete will be needed to complete the work, the bulk of which will be done by two contractors, Halmar International LLC, based in New Jersey, and China Construction of America (CCA), a subsidiary of China’s largest construction company. Two-to-three hundred new construction jobs are being created.

At the press conference, little attention was paid to the inconvenience the bridge’s 200,000 daily commuters are likely to face. But lane closures will likely cause traffic delays, the NYSDOT admits. “We’re trying hard to avoid widespread backup,” said Adam Levine, NYSDOT spokesman.

Zachary Campbell, a spokesman for the project from the public relations firm Zetlin Strategic Communications, says traffic on the Cross Bronx Expressway, which feeds the bridge, will be particularly affected.

As construction begins, there are also questions as to whether the project will improve commuter safety on I-95. In 2004, the NYSDOT released their final report of the “Bronx Arterial Needs Major Investment Study,” or BAN MIS, detailing different construction proposals to improve traffic flow and commuter safety for the roadways making up the I-95 corridor. The study targeted the Alexander Hamilton Bridge as in need of rehabilitation, taking into consideration the anxiety of commuters over the swerving of trucks through automobile lanes as traffic begins to approach the George Washington Bridge. While the BAN MIS proposed a realignment of traffic to prevent trucks and cars from converging, the NYSDOT is not addressing this issue.

Still, the five-year project is an ambitious attempt to tackle one of the most congested interstates in New York. “We cannot let vital transportation links crumble away… this project is a valuable step forward in this area,” said Congressman Jose Serrano, in a statement.

Ed. Note: For more information on the Alexander Hamilton Bridge Rehabilitation Project, visit www.nysdot.gov/AHB.