Drivers actually win out in MTA's latest budget cuts

Drivers may be getting a break because of an unlikely reason: The MTA’s money problems.

The agency is shaking up its repair schedule for bridges and tunnels and will do more work overnight, meaning fewer traffic headaches.

The agency expects to save $20 million this year by closing four maintenance garages, cutting 120 positions and shifting all infrastructure repairs to between 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays. Currently, work, like pothole repairs, is squeezed in after the rush hour ends around 9:30 a.m.

“There will be less impact on our customers,” James Ferrara, president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, said Thursday.

But workers aren’t so thrilled about having to toil late nights, and their union is further “studying” the proposal.

“Our members are being required to change their tours and this is disruptive to their working lives,” said Franklin Silsdorf, president of the DC37 union that represents bridge and tunnel workers.