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New York, NY - Would-be Brooklyn-bound taxi riders say it’s harder than ever to hail a cab back to the borough since late-night repairs began on the Brooklyn Bridge last week.

Cabbies who don’t want to deal with traffic backups on the Manhattan Bridge or pay to go through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel are refusing Brooklyn-bound passengers, frustrated commuters said.

“No one wanted to drive me back,” said Lisa Murphy, 27, of Park Slope, saying the first two cabs she flagged down in the East Village Saturday wouldn’t take her home.

After 20 minutes, one finally picked her up.

“The cabbie complained that construction on the bridge was causing delays,” Murphy said.

The bridge remains open for Brooklyn-bound traffic, but Manhattan-bound lanes close at 11p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends. They reopen at 6 a.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday.

It could be a long wait for a cab back to Brooklyn because the bridge is undergoing a four-year, $500 million makeover to get a new coat of paint, extra lanes on ramps and new pavement in rotting sections.

Cabbies said traffic is so slow going into Manhattan that they lose money on rides to Brooklyn.

“They really screwed us up,” said driver Ali Choudhary, 54, who works the night shift. “We spend more than one hour just to come and go. It’s not worth it.”

A Taxi and Limousine Commission spokesman said that passengers should call 311 if a driver refuses to go to Brooklyn.

“Our message to cab drivers is a simple one - service refusal for any reason, at any time, is inappropriate and won’t be tolerated,” said TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg.

The mega-project appears to be causing confusion among taxi drivers who have avoided the Brooklyn Bridge even though the Brooklyn-bound side is open.

“It’s a hassle,” said Mo Shohag, 26, a veterinarian on the upper West Side who regularly takes taxis late at night to Brownsville.

“My journey home took 30 minutes longer,” because the driver insisted on taking the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, he said.

A Transportation Department spokesman said officials have tried to minimize the problems by installing message boards reminding drivers when the bridge lanes are closed and using traffic agents at busy intersections to direct motorists near the Manhattan Bridge.

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