MTA wasn’t fast as wind to shut span

The winds were fast — but MTA officials were slow to close the Verrazzano Bridge during Tropical Storm Isaias last week, agency data shows.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority managers banned all traffic on the Brooklyn-Staten Island crossing starting at 1:02 p.m. on Aug. 4.

But between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., as the ban took effect, 951 vehicles paid the bridge’s toll to cross east into Brooklyn.

The ban came as sustained wind speeds reached 60 mph, according to an internal incident report. Under MTA protocol, the bridge must close to all traffic when winds hit 60 mph.

But the bridge was dangerous before sustained winds hit the 60 mph threshold.

Twenty-four minutes before the ban took effect, a Brooklyn-bound box truck was toppled by winds measured at sustained speeds of 52 mph and gusts of up to 64 mph, the report says.

MTA officials said it took until 1:20 p.m. to fully restrict access to the bridge. Another four large trucks were toppled by winds between 1:09 p.m. and 1:27 p.m., the report says.

Tractor-trailers are supposed to be banned from the bridge when sustained winds hit 50 mph, officials said.

It’s unclear how many cars crossed into Staten Island while the crossing was ordered shut. Tolls are only charged for the trip from Staten Island to Brooklyn.

“It’s not surprising there were 1,000 cars on the bridge when the shutdown began as sustained winds reached 60 mph, as is protocol,” said MTA spokesman Ken Lovett.