GRIDLOCK sam

SUN., JAN. 31 - FRI., FEB. 6 ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES

ARE IN EFFECT ALL WEEK

FLOTUS Gridlock Alert! First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to NY will be the source of slowdowns all around Grand Central 2 p.m. Tuesday.

She will join Lena Dunham and Julianne Moore for a panel at the Grand Hyatt as part of the Let Girls Learn initiative. The Park Ave. viaduct and 42nd St. may be impacted. Follow me on Twitter @GridlockSam for more updates as the First Lady moves around the city.

The Mayor’s State of the City Address 6 p.m. Thursday will cause a commotion in the Bronx with street closures at the NYPD’s discretion.

The area bounded by Kingsbridge Rd. on the South, Goulden Ave./ Reservoir Ave. on the west, Mosholu Parkway on the north and Grand Concourse on the east will be affected.

Friday night alert! On the FDR Drive at 68th St. one southbound lane will close 10 p.m. Friday to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, and again midnight Saturday to noon Sunday. During the closure, use Henry Hudson Parkway/West Side Highway as an alternate. First person to send me all the names for the West Side Highway will win an autographed GS Calendar!

One tube of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel will close 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday nights.

During the closure, two-way traffic will remain in the open tube.

The Metropolitan Ave. Bridge will completely close to all traffic

including bicyclists, pedestrians, and the Q54 bus midnight to 6 a.m. Tuesday through

Saturday mornings. From the mailbag: Dear Gridlock Sam,

When did the Belt Pkwy become an expressway? Commercial traffic (including trailers), busses with no passengers riding the left lane, construction vehicles riding the length are all just riding along every day.

I have yet to see one pulled over. Is this part of the Mayors vision plan? Robert, New York

Dear Robert,

I do not believe that this has anything to do with the mayor’s Vision Zero plan. Commercial vehicles are prohibited from using the Belt Parkway but exceptions are made: some buses (usually school buses) have permits and construction vehicles used for related highway maintenance (at times they need to travel more than one exit because of too tight exit ramps). Personally I think cars with commercial plates should be permitted but they are not. I have forwarded your complaint to NYPD Highway Patrol 2 for additional enforcement. Gridlock Sam