Say goodbye to the 5-2 lane configuration on the Tappan Zee Bridge — for now.

Joint repair work — along with the thick steel construction plates — shifts to the Rockland-bound lanes, starting tomorrow.

That means come Monday morning, Westchester-bound commuters will return to having four lanes. The good news is that the problematic raised steel plates will have been removed, which should make for a smoother ride during the morning rush hour.

On the other side, Rockland-bound drivers will again have three lanes to work with, but will have to contend with the plates stretching over the two right lanes.

The state Thruway Authority advises drivers to maintain their speed as they drive over the construction plates, but many drivers slow down, fearing damage to their cars, which causes a ripple effect and leads to delays.

The afternoon commute to Rockland in four lanes will probably be slower because of the plates. But Thruway officials are not anticipating the 15- to 17-mile backups that became commonplace during the morning rush into Westchester because traffic is more spread out in the late afternoon and early evening.

Those massive back-ups were what led Thruway officials to make the unprecedented move on Oct. 23 of adding a fifth lane in the morning, which has successfully kept traffic moving without causing major disruptions for Rockland-bound drivers.

Creating a 5-2 lane pattern toward Rockland in the evening is not an option because of heavy volumes in both directions, said Ramesh Mehta, the Thruway Authority’s Hudson Valley director.

Early next month, the 5-2 pattern will return in the morning to finish joint replacement in the Westchester-bound lanes.

The work to replace the expansion joints is part of the $147 million project to replace 40 percent of the bridge’s road deck.

More than 90 percent of the deck panels have been replaced.

Read more about this story tomorrow in The Journal News