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)
Read the full story: Fix for a Hated N.Y.C. Highway: How About an $11 Billion Tunnel?
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