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Transit Sam, Week of March 6, 2013

ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING IS IN EFFECT ALL WEEK
In case last weekend’s toll and fare increases didn’t make your commute sluggish enough, daylight savings time kicks in 2 a.m. Sunday. This means that Monday morning will be an Accident Alert Day: Drivers will battle collective sleep deprivation, making roads more dangerous. Crash and fatality rates are likely to increase by around eight percent the week after daylight savings time takes effect, so make sure you’re fully awake before hitting the road.
On the Brooklyn Bridge, all Manhattan-bound lanes will close 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday, and 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday and Tuesday.

After the Nets play the Wizards 7:30 p.m. Friday and the Hornets 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, fan traffic will be diverted to the Manhattan Bridge, adding congestion on Canal St. all the way to the Holland Tunnel.

At the Lincoln Tunnel, all lanes of the New Jersey-bound helix (the spiral approach road to the tunnel) will be closed 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to 4:30 a.m. Thursday. All lanes of the Manhattan-bound helix will be closed 10:30 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday. Expect increased traffic in the Holland Tunnel.
Basketball is taking over at the Garden: The Knicks play 8 p.m. Thursday and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and the Big East college tournament will begin Tuesday and run through next Saturday.

Hudson St. access to the Holland Tunnel will be restricted again as construction continues.  From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekends, you may be forced to take Spring St. to Varick St. to the tunnel, so plan accordingly. The Canal St. entrance will remain open.

A reconstruction project at Peck Slip began last week and will bring roadway closures through the summer. One eastbound lane of traffic on Peck Slip will operate between Pearl and South Sts., and there will be no parking in the project area, bounded by Peck Slip, Pearl, Dover and South Sts.

Gouverneur Lane will completely close between Front and South Sts. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The ongoing closure of the north lane of Chambers St. between Greenwich St. and Broadway will extend to Elk St. 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Chambers St. runs one-way westbound, with eastbound M22 buses rerouted to Warren St.

From the mailbag:

Dear Transit Sam,
Do you know when the Battery Park Underpass will fully reopen? The lane closures are obtrusive and I drive through every day and never see anyone working.
Tim, New York

Dear Tim,
I’d say no earlier than June. The state D.O.T. just released an update on the B.P.U. closures. The south tube (from West St. to the F.D.R.) will completely close every week from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Saturday until late June. During the closures, state D.O.T. workers will replace equipment damaged in Sandy.

For readers who take the B.P.U. to the Brooklyn Bridge during weeknight closures, try cutting across West St. further north.  If you take Chambers St., you’ll find it closed at Greenwich where you’ll be forced to turn right. Make the next left on to Warren St., continue three blocks to Broadway, and make a right. Stay in the left lane and just after City Hall Park, follow the road and you’ll see the Park Row ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge on your left.
Transit Sam