Project Rehabilitated Major Thoroughfare to Ease Congestion and Reduce Backups at Busy Location
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that major construction is complete on a $121 million project that reconstructed the Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) in both directions between West 161st Street and the Alexander Hamilton Bridge. This significant construction project will improve traffic flow, enhance safety, and encourage economic growth in the Bronx, allowing traffic and goods to move more efficiently through New York City and beyond via this key corridor.
“The Major Deegan Expressway is a crucial route for commuters and commercial vehicles heading to and from New York City,” Governor Hochul said. “The modernization of this important segment of infrastructure will enhance the traveling experience for all motorists, improve traffic flow, and encourage commerce via this key interstate artery.”
As part of the project, a northbound auxiliary lane was added between West 161st Street and Depot Place, which will reduce backups that have occurred historically at this location as motorists exited and entered the highway, including from Sedgwick Avenue. By giving motorists more space to merge, the new lane also eases congestion in the existing left and middle lanes – ensuring that traffic headed to Westchester County and other northern destinations is now expedited.
Additionally, the new auxiliary lane provides motorists on Sedgewick Avenue with direct access to the Cross Bronx Expressway without having to merge onto the Major Deegan Expressway, which eases traffic on local streets. The construction of a new entrance ramp just north of the intersection of Sedgwick and Undercliff Avenues provides additional direct access to the northbound Major Deegan Expressway.
New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “This is a major milestone in our continued efforts to rehabilitate the Major Deegan Expressway and surrounding transportation infrastructure in the region. New Yorkers traveling on this important transportation corridor will notice the advantages and benefits immediately on both the state and local transportation networks. With every project that we undertake at the Department of Transportation, we aim to make travel easier while improving the quality of life in the community, and that’s just what this project on the Major Deegan Expressway has accomplished.”
The project eliminated the 2,400-foot-long southbound steel viaduct, which ran from just south of Depot Place to near the ramp from the Major Deegan Expressway to Yankee Stadium, and the 60-foot-long northbound steel viaduct near 161st Street – reducing future maintenance and inspection costs. The viaducts have been replaced with new roadways built on earth fill, and the pavement within the project limits has been reconstructed.
A new traffic signal was installed at the intersection of West 167th Street and Sedgwick Avenue, which has been synchronized with the existing traffic signal on Undercliff Avenue, further improving traffic flow. The crosswalks and sidewalks at this intersection were reconstructed to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
Other improvements include the replacement of an existing 48” watermain along Sedgwick Avenue that was over 100 years old, the installation of new LED lighting, upgrades to the expressway’s drainage system, a modern traffic management system, including new closed-circuit cameras and fiber optic cables, and the installation of new signs with enhanced reflectivity and improved readability.
Minor finishing work will continue on the bridge carrying Depot Place over the Major Deegan Expressway for the next several weeks. Improvements to this bridge include a new concrete deck and bearings and higher vertical clearance over the northbound and southbound lanes of the Major Deegan Expressway and ramp to I-95, which allows trucks to pass underneath more safely. Additional enhancements to the bridge included steel repairs, replacement of railings with a low concrete wall and fencing, replacement of an 8” watermain with a 12” watermain to increase the line’s capacity, the addition of a new 8” watermain helping to improve the resiliency of the water supply system and upgraded utility lines.
The bridge includes a new 5-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side of the bridge and a new 9-foot-wide sidewalk and 12-foot-wide bikeway along the south side of the bridge. The sidewalks provide ADA compliant routes and crossings from Sedgewick Avenue to the ramp from Depot Place to Exterior Street and the waterfront. The new dedicated bike lane has been integrated into the existing bike route on Sedgwick Avenue.
