Alexander Hamilton Bridge Construction Has Drivers Bracing for Worst As of Sunday afternoon, there were no signs of the traffic Armageddon that many predicted when an extensive construction project closed a lane of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge over the Harlem River. Yet many people who drove from New Jersey for the Yankees game on Sunday said they either had braced for horrendous traffic or did not take any chances and used different routes at least part of the way. "They said the Cross Bronx was going to be bumper to bumper, so I went through the Holland Tunnel instead," said Paul Failla, 27, a steamfitter from Marlboro, N.J., who arrived at Yankee Stadium early Sunday afternoon. "I drive a truck for a living and bad traffic just is what it is, but I won't be going anywhere near there for six months," said Larry Zarpaylic, 49, another Yankees fan, who lives in West Milford, N.J. Around midnight Saturday, two yellow cranes could be seen placing concrete blocks on the bridge, which connects Manhattan to the Bronx, just east of the George Washington Bridge. The result was that the bridge's two eastbound lanes shrank to just one. For days before that, radio and television reports had been warning of large traffic jams, with suggestions that the project could cause eastbound traffic to back up as far as Hackensack, N.J., some 10 miles to the west. Some drivers avoided the George Washington Bridge altogether; others used local streets to get to it; others avoided both bridges. And some just hoped for the best. "There were road signs for miles on I-80 saying, "Watch out for delays," but it actually wasn't too bad," said Dominick Perini, 39, who lives in Stroudsburg, Pa., and also drove to the ballgame. The restoration of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge, budgeted at more than $400 million, began in 2009 and is expected continue through the end of 2013 with the lane closure scheduled to last months. Workers will replace the bridge's concrete deck and also strengthen the steel arch and steel support beams. The project also calls for repairing the support piers and foundation, applying extra coats of paint to protect the bridge from the elements and improving park areas underneath it. The bridge has not undergone any major repairs since it opened in 1963, according to the New York State Transportation Department Web site, and close to 200,000 vehicles cross it every day. It connects the Cross Bronx Expressway with the longer and grander George Washington Bridge just to the west. Together, the two bridges make up the busiest river crossing in New York City. Mayors in two New Jersey towns close to the George Washington Bridge have said that they were considering shutting down some roads if too many motorists try to use them as shortcuts. Carlos Rivas, 45, a computer programmer who lives in Stamford, Conn., and was visiting relatives in New Jersey on Sunday morning, said he took side streets to the George Washington Bridge that afternoon because he had known about the construction. "I'm going to keep taking back roads," he said. There are a lot of different ways we can come in. Officials say that traffic headed west, toward New Jersey, will not be affected by the construction. Some traffic experts are recommending that motorists coming from the north take the Tappan Zee Bridge instead, and those from the south cross through Staten Island. Ryan Cohen, 34, who markets sports memorabilia and lives in Fort Lee, N.J., said he would continue watching the eastbound traffic from the George Washington Bridge, noting that it was "abnormally low" on Sunday, but most likely nowhere near as bad as it might get. "The Cross Bronx Expressway is the worst highway known to man," he said.