BROOKLYN -- Homeward-bound express buses and other commuters will continue to have an additional lane through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in the evening out of Manhattan.

Adding a lane, created by reversing an inbound lane last November, was originally designed as a temporary measure to ease the trip for bus commuters until completion of a construction project at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, further along on the bus route.

The project is finished, but in weighing the benefits of the lane to transit users and to overall evening traffic flow in Lower Manhattan, MTA Bridges and Tunnels decided to keep the lane, called a contraflow lane, in operation. The agency coordinated with MTA NYC Transit, which operates 500 express buses daily through the tunnel, and the New York City Police Department on the action.

Keeping this extra tunnel lane open is a significant value added for Staten Island and Brooklyn bus commuters, as well as other traffic going out-bound. Approximately 24,000 people use the tunnel between 4 and 7 p.m., the hours the extra lane is in operation. About 15,000 of them travel in buses, with the remainder in cars.

Evening rush hour street congestion on the Battery Place approaches to the tunnel has also been significantly reduced. MTA will continue to monitor the effects of the lane, including inbound Gowanus Expressway traffic during these hours, although the impact has so far proven to be relatively minor.

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