The Pulaski Skyway has closed for the weekend as work gets underway on installing a new floor beam.

Saturday morning delays near the Pulaski Skyway
Saturday morning delays near the Pulaski Skyway (NJ DOT)
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The closure is scheduled to be in place until 5 a.m. on Monday morning the beam is installed to support the travel lanes over the Tonnelle Circle in Jersey City

New Jersey Fast Traffic said drivers seemed to be ready for the closure on Friday night and reported no long delays or related accidents.

There is some limited access to the Skyway but for the most part drivers will be detoured around it.

The northbound lanes will be closed at the Skyway entrance near Newark Liberty International Airport. Routes 1 and 9 south will be closed at the ramp from Route 139 west to the Tonnelle Circle.

Motorists heading south on 1 and 9 trying to get onto the Skyway near the Tonnelle Circle will be able to do so. Westbound motorists on Route 139 will be able to cut through the circle and get on the Skyway southbound.

When the road reopens on Monday, trucks will not be able to use the ramps to the Holland Tunnel until Sunday, September 1.

Drivers heading for the Holland Tunnel can take the New Jersey Turnpike's Newark Bay Extension

New Jersey Fast Traffic's Bob Williams says this will be an early test of what drivers can expect when the road's northbound lanes close in February after the Super Bowl for two years as the road's $1 billion rehabilitation project gets underway.

Drivers will need to find alternates to the Holland Tunnel on a daily basis which Williams expects to radically alter driving patterns throughout the area.

The rehabilitation project includes the replacement of the Skyway deck, strengthening the steel superstructure, repairing ramps, increasing the Skyway’s ability to withstand an earthquake and improving drainage and lighting. The bridge will also be repainted.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

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