Essex County began construction on the JFK bridge at Parsonage Hill Road this week, closing the eastbound lane to through traffic completely, said Millburn Police Chief Greg Weber.

The road will be closed eastbound at Passaic Ave for the duration of the project to rehabilitate the aging bridge, the first phase of which is expected to take approximately nine months. The second phase begins after that.

Westbound is scheduled to remain open for the duration of the project, according to county officials.  JFK will be closed under the bridge for one or two weekends from Friday evening to Monday morning with dates to be announced later.

Traffic headed eastbound toward Millburn is being rerouted through Livingston or Chatham.