Longfellow Bridge lane to close

One of two outbound lanes on the failing Longfellow Bridge will close for 12 days starting tomorrow for safety inspections and tests to prepare for the bridge's reconstruction.

Officials warn there will be traffic delays because of the lane closure on the historic crossing between Boston and Cambridge, which will start after tomorrow morning's rush hour and continue around the clock until just before the afternoon commute on Feb. 3. About 28,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

Pedestrians can still use the sidewalks on the outbound side, said the state Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, which is overseeing the project.

Once reconstruction of the bridge begins later this year, officials have said one plan would divert MBTA Red Line trains to temporary rails built on the innermost lanes currently used by cars and trucks. That would allow the replacement of deteriorating steel supports under the T tracks while the line continues to serve 90,000 riders a day. The bridge would be reduced to a single lane in each direction while under construction.

The project could begin as soon as 2008, and the current $70 million price tag could rise to $100 million, said Massachusetts Highway Department spokesman Jon Carlisle.

The bridge, named for poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, opened on Aug. 3, 1906.