The New York State Bridge Authority September 1, announced the start of the full deck replacement project on the westbound span of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. The authority also announced that new traffic patterns will take effect by mid-December. The multi-year project "represents a major capital improvement in a critical connector for the Hudson Valley and the Northeast," according to a press release from the authority. The north span of the bridge is the older of the two spans and carries Interstate 84 westbound traffic across the Hudson River. First opened in 1963, the last deck replacement took place in the early 1980s. The Bridge Authority and its contractor have announced a plan to reroute traffic onto the wider south span during construction, with the exception of westbound traffic coming from Route 9D. The entire deck replacement project at the north span is expected to wrap up by July 2023, with most work expected to take place in 2021 and 2022. Traffic updates for all bridges operated by the New York State Bridge Authority can be found on the authority's Facebook and Twitter profile pages. The New York State Bridge Authority operates the Bear Mountain, Newburgh-Beacon, Mid-Hudson, Kingston-Rhinecliff and Rip Van Winkle Bridges. It also owns and maintains the structure of the Walkway Over the Hudson pedestrian bridge.