Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn announced rehabilitation plans for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway on Aug. 24, according to a press release from the Office of the Mayor.
The changes will take place on the city-owned portion — a 1.5-mile stretch — of the BQE between Atlantic Ave. and Sands St.
The expressway's infrastructure is two decades past its design life and is carrying the weight of more than double the capacity for which it was designed every day.
"We can no longer afford to wait for the perfect solution," said Mamdani. "The cost of inaction is too high and the risks to New Yorkers are too important to delay any longer."
The 10-year rehabilitation is expected to break ground in 2030 and will cost approximately $4 billion. The plan is expected to extend the expressway’s design life for another 40 years.
While a relatively short-term plan, the Office of the Mayor states that it is needed to keep the structure safe while allowing the city to work with the state on a long-term vision for the entire highway.
"While the city and state must right the wrongs of Robert Moses with the BQE and other infrastructure plowed through urban communities, decades of political paralysis have left us out of options," said Mike Flynn, NYC DOT commissioner.
New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes, State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon and Council Member Lincoln Restler issued a joint statement on Aug. 24 regarding the plan, and citing concerns about construction processes. They stated they are "worried about the damaging impact of temporary highways" in their dense neighborhood.
"We hope the Mamdani administration will engage transparently and robustly with our community to collaboratively revise this proposal, improve air quality in surrounding neighborhoods and explore new connections to Brooklyn Bridge Park," they said.
Plans include building a temporary two-level highway bypass on top of Furman St. from Atlantic Ave. to Columbia Heights in order to keep the highway operable during construction.
"This won’t be easy. This won’t be quick," said Mamdani in his social media announcement this morning. "But we’re done waiting on one of the city's most severe infrastructure issues."
