The MTA announced on Thursday that it will begin demolition on the closed pedestrian overpass bridge at the Port Washington Long Island Rail Road station.
The demolition of the bridge, which was built in 1959, will begin Friday night and continue into the day Saturday, a news release said.
The installation of a new prefabricated bridge, the release said, is tentatively scheduled for October.
The bridge, which stretches from the South Bayles Avenue parking lot to the Haven Avenue parking lot, closed on June 29 after an inspection ruled the bridge to be unsafe.
According to the release, Platform B, which accommodates Tracks 4 and 5, “will no longer be accessible from the overpass leading to/ from the Haven Avenue parking lot” starting Friday morning.
Customers who need to access Tracks 4 and 5, the release said, will need walk to the station plaza near Main Street. Access to the tracks from the Haven Avenue parking lot will be unaffected.
A section of the South Bayles Avenue parking lot will be closed for 24 hours to accommodate a crane and equipment for the demolition, the release said.
After the bridge closed in June, residents complained to the Town of North Hempstead, saying that the Main Street entrance to the tracks was overcrowded and that it added time to their commutes.
Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth and town Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio were in contact with the MTA immediately after the bridge closed to push for a solution.
In July, LIRR Spokesperson Salvatore Arena said that after the inspection, the bridge was closed due to “deterioration of the bridge’s concrete and steel structure.”
At the time, he added that a prefabricated replacement bridge would be the fastest solution.
