The 89-year-old span that connects Elizabeth, New Jersey, with Staten Island, New York, will close Friday and be replaced by twin spans.

New York-bound traffic will use the first of the twin spans Saturday afternoon. New Jersey-bound lanes will open late Sunday afternoon. The second of the twin spans will open in 2018.

The new Goethals Bridge spans will each have three 12-foot (4-meter) lanes along with 12-foot (4-meter) outer shoulders and 5-foot (2-meter) inner shoulders.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the $1.5 billion cable-stayed crossing is the agency’s first new bridge opening since the Bayonne Bridge was completed in 1931.

(AP)