Two of New York City’s most congested expressways are being eyed for extreme makeovers — with implications for the future of transportation in the region and beyond.
The city’s Department of Transportation is pondering what to do with those highways, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Cross Bronx Expressway — both mid-20th-century projects spearheaded by the region’s master builder Robert Moses, whose vision helped turbocharge car culture, drive suburbanization and create modern-day Long Island.
Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams highlighted a “historic” study to be done by the state and city to examine the future of the Cross Bronx. Adams said that the study, with $2 million from the federal government, would aim to find ways to reduce pollution emitted by motor vehicles that travel the expressway, stitch neighborhoods back together that have been bifurcated by the Cross Bronx, build new parkland, and cut down on crashes.
That could be done perhaps by decking parts of the road in the style of Boston’s Big Dig. The aim is to have a plan to present by 2024 for the short and long term.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Two of New York City’s most congested expressways are being eyed for extreme makeovers — with implications for the future of transportation in the region and beyond.
- The state and city will undertake a study to examine the future of the Cross Bronx Expressway, aiming to find ways to reduce pollution emitted by motor vehicles, stitch neighborhoods back together that have been bifurcated, build new parkland, and cut down on crashes.
- Earlier this month, the city released a “menu of design ideas” for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which included returning the expressway to six lanes of traffic by bringing back two lanes that were recently eliminated.
“The Cross Bronx doesn’t work for the Bronx residents, but I want to be clear. It does not only impact the Bronx residents, it impacts our entire city. It doesn’t work for drivers. For far too long it has been nicknamed ‘America’s Parking Lot,’” Adams said, adding: “I wish we could go back in time to stop the Cross Bronx when it was built. But the second best time to fight a wrong is today. And that today is right in front of us.”
Earlier this month, the city released a “menu of design ideas” for the BQE, which included returning the expressway to six lanes of traffic by bringing back two lanes that were recently eliminated. The prospect of widening, rather than narrowing, the expressway drew immediate ire from some local groups who want to see less driving rather than more.
Also on the table, at least for the 1.5-mile part of the BQE, also known as Interstate 278, that is controlled by the city: landscaping and improvements to a promenade near Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Adams aims to begin construction within five years on fixes to the heavily congested highway, with its city-owned triple cantilever section in Brooklyn also being significantly overdue for infrastructure repairs.
No set plans for either expressway
As of now, there are no concrete plans yet for either expressway, only plans to make plans, with work years away at the earliest. But at the core of the deliberations are fundamental questions of how people should get around.
How big should highways and roadways be? How much should driving be incentivized, or discouraged? Should motorists be nudged toward mass transit? What about the collateral harms of the roadways — smog, divided neighborhoods, gridlock?
Plans to make over the expressways arrive as city roads become less hospitable to drivers and private vehicles — with an eye toward public transportation, pedestrians, cycling and open spaces. Outdoor dining, expanded during the pandemic, is now permanent, removing parking spaces from circulation. Traffic lanes on…
Read More: What to know about Cross Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens Expressway plans