Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Hank Gutman today released a comprehensive plan to extend the life of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) cantilever for at least another 20 years, while reimagining the corridor for a long-term future with less reliance on large, diesel trucks. The four-part plan focuses on preserving the structure; executing immediate and ongoing maintenance; expanding monitoring and enforcement; and developing a long-term, community-based vision for the entire corridor.
“We have the technology, the ideas, and the expertise to save the BQE, and we’re excited to execute this plan. But that’s just the start,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “New York City can do more than patch up a highway in need of repair – we can use this opportunity to rethink how people, goods, and services move around our city. I look forward to leading that process, and findings fresh ways to use this resource to build a long-term recovery for all of us.”
“Repairing and restoring the BQE takes creativity, ingenuity, and hard work, and I’m proud to lay out a plan that relies on just that,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Laura Anglin. “This plan will preserve an essential part of our city’s infrastructure for years to come, and I look forward to thinking creatively about its future.”
“This plan is designed to address current safety and structural concerns about the 70-year old roadway, while reimagining not only its future purpose, but how freight is moved in this city in the 21st century,” said DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman.
“To drive economic development, we must invest in sustainable roadways, and decrease our reliance on diesel trucks to transport goods,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Rachel Loeb. “Tens of thousands of New Yorkers depend on the BQE, and aging infrastructure and truck congestion have been long-standing problems. NYCDOT’s plan will work to address needed maintenance and repairs to make the expressway safer and will allow for commerce to move more efficiently, helping our city’s businesses and residents. NYCEDC will continue to support the city in its long-term vision to also ease truck congestion with water and rail solutions, which will reduce traffic and harmful emissions.”
The mayor’s plan features four key elements:
Preserving the Structure
DOT has identified new ways to provide at least two more decades of life on the BQE from Sands Street to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. These methods include:
Stopping water infiltration
Preservation methods will stop water infiltration to slow down corrosion. These methods will mitigate the intrusion of water into the structure by addressing the joints, improving drainage, and reintroducing waterproofing. This effort will be combined with rigorous, ongoing maintenance.
Shifting lane markings
· Starting on August 30 and as recommended by the Expert Panel convened by the City in 2019, DOT will shift lane markings on the BQE along a half-mile segment (approximately from Atlantic Ave to the Brooklyn Bridge) from three lanes in each direction to two. DOT will replace current pavement markings of three sub-standard width lanes with two wider lanes and a shoulder, which will also allow for improved entry lanes at Atlantic Avenue. This will reduce weight along a critical segment of the structure, make the roadway safer, and reduce delays caused by breakdowns and collisions.
Monitoring and managing traffic
· DOT will launch a comprehensive traffic management and monitoring plan, as well as a neighborhood protection plan to minimize disruption to motorists and nearby residents.
· The City will install “weigh-in-motion” technology to automatically fine overweight trucks, which put undue strain on the structure. The NYPD has already increased weight enforcement in recent months; summonses have increased up to five-fold since February.
· Once per month, NYPD will surge enforcement even further, with extra units increasing efforts over several days at a time.
Immediate and Ongoing Maintenance
· DOT will complete its ongoing concrete and rebar repairs on the Hicks Street retaining wall this year. Work on two deck spans showing faster signs of deterioration will begin next year.
Expanding Monitoring
· The City has installed sensors along the BQE to continuously monitor the structure’s health. Preliminary results will be available later this summer; full results should be available by next spring. These sensors will provide a real time picture of how the structure is behaving under traffic.
Developing a Long-Term Vision
· Throughout the summer and fall, the City will engage affected communities from Staten Island to Queens, including businesses and the freight industry, on a corridor-wide vision for the long-term future of the BQE.
· As discussed in Delivering New York: A Smart Truck Management Plan for New York City, the City will better manage the last leg of the freight supply chain, especially during the most congested times of day, by incentivizing off-hour deliveries, freight consolidation, and cargo bike deliveries. The plan also outlined ways the City will promote and incentivize the use of safer, cleaner vehicles and technology by expanding the NYC Clean Truck Program.
· By working with freight and distribution companies, the City can make significant shifts from truck to water or rail movement of goods (up to 20 million truck miles eliminated annually) to diminish congestion and better air quality.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
What no bike lane, or is that the intention of the shoulder to become a bike lane as was done on many NYC streets when changing lane size?
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