Theresa Juva-Brown

tjuva@lohud.com

Drivers along a stretch of Interstate 287 in Westchester will soon face a slimmer roadway and lower speed limit as workers make way for the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

In the coming weeks, the westbound lanes will be made narrower on a quarter-mile stretch from Exit 9 to the bridge. In addition, the speed limit will be reduced to 45 miles per hour in the area.

The traffic flow adjustment — which will be in place until sometime in 2016 — is so crews can build the Westchester landing of the new crossing.

Starting Tuesday night, workers will start the two-week effort to shift the lanes.

When they are finished, there will still be four traffic lanes in that area, but the lanes will be six inches narrower and drivers will have to slow down, officials say.

In the meantime, nighttime drivers should expect these upcoming lane and ramp closures:

• On Tuesday and Wednesday, westbound traffic near Exit 9 will be reduced to two lanes between 8 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. The I-287 westbound ramp from Route 119 in Tarrytown will also be closed, and traffic will be detoured 1.5 miles east to Interchange 8A.

• From Friday into Saturday, eastbound I-287 across the Tappan Zee will be reduced to two lanes between 10 p.m. and midnight and to one lane between midnight to 6 a.m. The 35-mph E-ZPass lanes at the Tarrytown toll plaza will be closed between 10 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday.

• From 9 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, westbound I-287 will be reduced to two lanes between Exit 9 and the bridge. Between midnight and 7 a.m., traffic will be reduced to one lane.

• From 10 p.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Sunday, eastbound I-287 will be reduced to two lanes across the bridge to the toll plaza.

• Between 10 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. from Oct. 6 through Oct. 8, drivers should expect westbound I-287 lane closures near the bridge as workers install temporary barrier and fencing.

The traffic shift and work leading up to it should not cause traffic problems, said Brian Conybeare, special adviser to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the Tappan Zee.

"Safety is our number one priority and we are asking all drivers to use caution," he said. "We encourage all motorists to obey the reduced speed limit and follow construction-related signage in this area, so that any traffic impacts will be minimal."

Although the narrowed lanes mark the first major shift in traffic related to the actual bridge construction, the $3.9 billion project has been blamed for traffic jams in the past.

In December, officials shut the westbound I-287 ramp on Route 9 in Tarrytown and set up a detour so the ramp area could be used for construction-staging activities.

But after a string of nightmare evening commutes, project officials reopened the ramp, acknowledging that the closure exacerbated congestion caused by other problems on those days, such as emergency repairs on the George Washington Bridge.

After leaders improved traffic signal timing and added signs in the area, the ramp was again closed in March. No major traffic tie-ups related to it have been reported since.