Commuters who use the Tobin Bridge will face new traffic hurdles - closed lanes and ramps - beginning this week as workers begin another round of painting and redecking that is expected to take 2 1/2 years.
The painting project that begins Tuesday will take place on the bridge's upper level, just after the tollbooths. There, three lanes of southbound traffic will merge into two. The painting project began in 1992 and is being done in phases at a total cost of $60 million.
The lane will be closed through mid- to late August. Last year, during another phase of the project, the lane closure extended into November.
Later this month, workers will shut down part of a lane on the lower level, in the area between the CANA tunnel and the old tollbooths.
The painting is not only an aesthetic issue; it's necessary to protect the steel from corrosion, according to officials at the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs the toll bridge.
The deck work is expected to begin in early July, on the lower northbound portion of the bridge, in the right-hand lane.
Most of the early work will take place on the Beacon Street ramp, which will need to be closed for four or five months, said Joe Staub, deputy director of the bridge. Traffic will be diverted to the Fourth Street and Webster Avenue ramps in Chelsea.
Workers will be replacing an older deck to protect the bridge from rusting.
"What we're doing here is basically waterproofing," said Jim Donegan, project manager.
Workers will do most of the work during the day because the sound of jackhammers and loud scraping equipment will reverberate into nearby communities, Staub said.
"Paving is a little bit less [noisy], so that could be done at nighttime," Staub said.
The repaving is also an ongoing project. The coming phase will cost $21.7 million, according to Massport. The overall repaving project costs $65 million.
The Tobin Bridge, built in 1950, carries 32,000 cars southbound and 48,000 cars northbound on weekdays.
Can't get there . . .
Two or three lanes of Interstate 93 south approaching and through downtown will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. today through Friday. I-93 south in the vicinity of the Charles River will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. The Storrow Drive onramp to I-93 south will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday and Friday. The Haymarket onramp to I-93 south and the Callahan Tunnel will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. today through Wednesday. I-93 south Exit 23, to Purchase Street, will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. today and Friday. I-93 south Exits 20A, South Station, and Exit 20B, to Interstate 90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike) west and Albany Street, will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday. The Essex Street onramp to I-93 south will be closed from 11 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday. Two or three lanes of I-93 north through downtown and Charlestown will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. today through Friday. I-93 north Exit 26, to Storrow Drive, will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Friday. The Sumner Tunnel onramp to I-93 north will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. today through Thursday. The Haymarket onramp to I-93 north will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. today through Thursday. I-93 north Exit 23, to Government Center, will be closed from 11:30 p.m. today to 5 a.m. tomorrow. The Essex Street onramp to I-93 north will be closed from 10 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday. The ramp at I-93 north Exit 20, to I-90 east, will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday. One lane of I-90 east in the Ted Williams Tunnel will be closed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. tomorrow through Friday. The I-90 east high-occupancy-vehicle tunnel to Logan Airport will be closed from 10 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday. Lanes on I-90 in South Boston to the Ted Williams Tunnel will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Friday. Access from Frontage Road and Albany Street to I-90 east and Logan Airport will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday. Lanes on I-90 east from the Prudential Tunnel near Exit 22 to the I-90/I-93 Interchange will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. today through Thursday and from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. One lane on I-90 west just west of Interchange 19 will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Friday. A second lane will be closed at all times for about a month. The D Street onramp to I-90 west will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Sections of I-90 east and west from the I-90/I-93 Interchange in Boston to the New York State line will be under construction from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. The four lanes on Washington Street and Harrison Avenue on the newly constructed bridge deck will be reduced to two lanes. One lane of I-90 Tunnel east and west near the Ted Williams Tunnel will be closed from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. tomorrow through Friday. Lanes on I-90 east and west near the Sheraton in Newton will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Thursday. The Congress Street onramp to I-93 south and I-90 west will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. today through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday. The Sumner Tunnel onramp to Storrow Drive will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Friday. One lane of the Sumner Tunnel will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Friday.
Please send complaints, comments, or story ideas to starts@globe.com. The column can be found at boston.com/starts. Globe correspondent Sarah M. Gantz contributed to this report. 
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