New York: Verrazzano Bridge closes tonight for Sunday's New York City Marathon
New York — The 2026 New York City Marathon, which takes place this Sunday, November 1, will begin to be felt on the city's roads as early as tonight: the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that the upper level of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge will close to traffic in both directions starting at 11:00 p.m. this Saturday, October 31, to prepare the roadway for the race.
On Sunday, the bridge will be closed to all non-emergency traffic between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The Bay Street and Lily Pond Avenue exits in Staten Island will close at 3:00 a.m. and are expected to reopen around 4:00 p.m., according to the MTA. Drivers traveling between Brooklyn and Staten Island will need to use alternate routes.
The closures go beyond the bridge. The Central Park transverse roads at 65th, 79th and 96th streets will be closed for most of the day, buses will not be allowed to cross Fifth Avenue during the race, and there will be numerous diversions along the route, which runs through all five boroughs from Staten Island to Central Park.
For runners, the MTA said subway service will connect to the Staten Island Ferry, from where shuttle buses will take them to the start area, and Metro-North will run additional early-morning trains on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines, arriving at Grand Central between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m. Extra personnel will also be deployed at stations near the finish line and other high-traffic viewing points, and some stairways may be designated entrance- or exit-only to prevent overcrowding.
This year's edition marks the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course and introduces a route change in the Bronx, the first in 15 years, in the Mott Haven area. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said hundreds of blocker vehicles and more than 10,000 metal barricades will be placed along the route to protect runners and spectators.
The MTA recommends checking mta.info, the MTA app or calling 511 for the latest changes, and notes that the Verrazzano marathon traffic hotline is (718) 692-5656. One useful detail for runners: early Sunday morning the clocks fall back one hour as daylight saving time ends.
Photo: Secret NYC / Shutterstock
Source: MTA