Waiting for the Roosevelt Island Bridge to Get Unstuck

Received this email message from reader last night advising of problems on the Roosevelt Island Bridge and inquiring if anyone knew what was happening.

...I just wanted to check in and see if you knew what was going on with the bridge tonight? I arrived home very late from Manhattan on the Tram and noticed that the "Red Bridge to Queens" had jammed up a number of motorists on R.I. This was at 10:30pm and it's now about 1:07p.m and it still looks like nothing has moved. We live in Manhattan Park with a view to the east. Anywho, I hope these poor people waiting for the bridge get home soon.

At the Farmer's Market this morning I learned from a Channel 9 reporter who was covering the story that that the Bridge was stuck in the up position for many hours last night.

New York 1 has the story here.

Drivers trying to cross the Roosevelt Island Bridge overnight sat for six hours Friday because the bridge was stuck in the up position.

The span got stuck in an up position at around 11 p.m., leaving a gap in the roadway that kept traffic from crossing.

The bridge and its approach are being completely overhauled, and according to the city's Department of Transportation, the company in charge of the reconstruction tried to fix the jam itself. DOT says they did not get a call until two hours later.

Finally,

DOT crews were able to fix the problem and the bridge reopened shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday.

Nothing as of yet on the RIOC web site.
Roosevelt Island Bridge Image is from Bridge and Tunnel Club. They are a great source for information on New York City neighborhoods.