Straphangers will suffer through more subway shutdowns on weekends and late nights so that the MTA can ensure transit workers are completing routine inspections of safety equipment.

Top MTA brass yesterday said that to complete inspections of subway track signals — which prevent trains from crashing into each other — entire lines may need to be shut down to get the work done.

“Maybe one day a month, we can take a line and we can shut it down,” said subway and bus chief Tom Prendergast.