A New Bridge to Connect Brooklyn and Queens

The new Kosciuszko Bridge offers multi-modal passage between boroughs, views to the Manhattan skyline, and probably impossible promises of congestion reduction.

September 3, 2019, 7am PDT | James Brasuell | @CasualBrasuell

The Kosciuszko Bridge, pictured on August 30, 2019.

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Azi Paybarah and Nate Schweber report from New York City:

The second span of the cable-stayed Kosciuszko Bridge (arguably pronounced ko-SHCH-OO-SH-ko), which connects Brooklyn and Queens over Newtown Creek, opened to vehicles on Thursday as part of an $873 million project. The first span opened in 2017. Both spans replaced the crumbling bridge that opened in 1939 and became a despised crossing because of its choking traffic.

The new span carries traffic to Brooklyn. The previously opened span carries traffic to Queens. The bridge also includes a 20-foot wide protected lane for pedestrians and people on bikes.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was on hand for the grand opening of the bridge the day before the bridge opened to traffic. Governor Cuomo claimed the bridge would reduce congestion by 65 percent, though that claim is met with skepticism in the article. "The new bridge is 35 feet lower than the original. The shorter incline allows large vehicles to maintain a consistent speed, reducing congestion," according to the Paybarah and Schwerber.

The article also includes early reviews and impressions of the new bridge from the first members of the public to use the new span last week.

Full Story:

The City’s Most Hated Bridge Gets a Nearly $1 Billion Makeover

Published on Monday, September 2, 2019 in The New York Times