Business owners and residents told News 12 that they are not looking forward to long term repairs scheduled for the Bayville Bridge.

The bridge brings cars into the waterfront village from Oyster Bay. When this bridge is closed, the only other way into Bayville is making a big loop around Locust Valley and approaching Bayville from the west.

That happened last year when emergency repairs were done to the bridge. Long term repairs are scheduled for Feb. 2020.

Leg. Josh Lafazan (D-Woodbury) says the bridge’s closure “hurts the economy.”

“We need to completely reform this bridge. We need to install computerized mechanisms. We need to make sure the bridge, when it goes up and down, doesn't overheat and get stuck,” he told News 12. “We need to modernize this piece of infrastructure so that it has a lasting life – not of five or 10 years but 40 to 50 years.”

The work is expected last until the end of 2021.

During most of the repairs, there will be only partial lane closures. For months in the spring of 2021 and for one month in Nov. 2021, there will there be full lane closures.