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.
First study of NYC congestion zone’s air quality impact shows improvements
The study also examined air quality around freeways which experts worried would see increased traffic from people avoiding the tolls.
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.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
5 New England states march closer to 800 megawatt wind energy project
Securing federal approval for the project may be complicated under the Trump administration, which has historically been hostile towards domestic wind power.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association