DOT busts Brooklyn Bridge bottlenecks

The city Department of Transportation has opened up the bottleneck that causes traffic jams near the Brooklyn Bridge.

Expanded access ramps to and from the Brooklyn Bridge and the FDR Drive opened within the past 10 days, giving drivers two traffic lanes instead of one, officials announced yesterday.

The lone lane on each side of the FDR Drive was a choke point that snarled traffic as cars squeezed into the exit.

DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said the upgrade will make driving between Manhattan and Brooklyn faster and smoother.

"What a difference a lane makes," Sadik-Khan said Monday in a statement.

When entering Manhattan from the bridge, there will be a two-lane exit ramp allowing drivers to access the FDR Drive North, as well as Pearl Street.

Meanwhile, the exit to the Brooklyn Bridge on the southbound FDR Drive now has two lanes.

"We've eased the bottleneck that has been an everyday reality for so many New Yorkers -- causing inefficiency and frustration alike," said state Sen. Daniel Squadron, a Brooklyn lawmaker who worked with the DOT on the expansion.

The exit expansion is part of a $508 million rehabilitation project started in 2010 for the Brooklyn Bridge and its approach ramps.

The DOT has nearly finished its expansion of the bridge's Brooklyn-bound lanes to Cadman Plaza West and Old Fulton Street.