Starting Thursday, the city will begin cracking down on overweight trucks on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The city Department of Transportation says it is an attempt to improve the longevity of the Robert Moses-era roadway.

"It's over 70 years old. And like any bridge or any structure that's been in service for so long and has received the amount of wear and tear that this structure has received, you know, there's repairs that need to get done. And we are looking to do some of those repairs as early as this year,” said Paul Schwartz, the deputy commissioner of the division of bridges of the Department of Transportation.

The Department of Transportation says the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is safe and it's one of the most monitored structures in the city, but overweight vehicles have damaged the road.

The city is using a new "weigh-in motion" system.

"It's a series of sensors and cameras that get installed into the road bed, and they go over the roadway and they're able to detect the weight of the vehicle, its axles and then total gross weight of a truck” Schwartz said.

The program will begin with Queens-bound traffic from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street with Staten Island-bound infrastructure to be installed later this year.

Trucks must weigh a maximum of 80,000 pounds. Those not in compliance will receive a $650 fine after a 90-day grace period.

Some New Yorkers applaud the idea.

"I'd like the [Brooklyn-Queens Expressway] to last longer so I can drive out to New Jersey and Staten Island over the Verrazano Bridge," said New Yorker Jack Nicastro.

Others remain skeptical about actual restoration. 

"I'm 49 and they've been fixing that road for 49 years," said Eric Guerin.

The Department of Transportation says plans for repairs are in the works and those plans will require some weekend closures.

"We'll be repairing the concrete and the steel reinforcing of the structure itself at a couple of critical locations," Schwartz said.

The first set of repairs, which will have major impact on traffic, will likely happen at the end of September and beginning of October. The Department of Transportation has not yet announced when closures will take place.