A plan to teardown the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and build a tunnel in its place has new political support and an expensive engineering plan.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Winnie Hu report that an ambitious idea to tear down the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), "a dilapidated Robert Moses-era eyesore of a highway running along the scenic Brooklyn waterfront," is gaining political momentum.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who is running for mayor next year, supported the idea of tearing down the BQE and replacing it this week. The City Council commissioned an engineering study of the idea, released on Monday, which placed an $11 billion estimated price tag on the project. Arup completed the engineering study.
"New York is turning for guidance to other cities that have found innovative solutions to transform aging roads into something less obtrusive," write Fitzsimmons and Hu. "Seattle replaced the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel as part of a $3 billion overhaul. San Francisco is replacing a highway near the Golden Gate Bridge with a landscaped parkway." The article also includes a history of planning relative to what to do about the crumbling BQE. Planetizen has also been following the evolution of the replacement plan over the years:
- Shrinking Highways: Could the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Be the First? (February 2020)
- Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Needs Innovative Solutions (December 2018)
- Much Hand Wringing After Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Replacement Plans Announced (September 2018)
FULL STORY: Fix for a Hated N.Y.C. Highway: How About an $11 Billion Tunnel?
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Needs Innovative Solutions
The New York City roadway is desperately in need of repair, but just tearing it down and replacing it would be a shortsighted fix.
How Close Is the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to Collapse?
The crucial freight connection is ‘crumbling,’ but a decision on how to move forward with repairing and supplementing it continues to elude the city.
Expressway Expansion Could Threaten Brooklyn Bridge Park
Supporters of the waterfront park worry NYCDOT’s plan to potentially widen the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway could reduce green space in “one of the most expensive urban parks ever built.”
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Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
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