Aerial view of the construction process on the westbound span set to open on the new Kosciuszko Bridge as seen in May 2019. (Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)
Aug. 22, 2019 By Allie Griffin
Governor Andrew Cuomo will host an official grand opening of the Kosciuszko Bridge next week, as the second span opens four years ahead of schedule.
The Governor’s invite-only grand opening will happen on Wednesday, Aug. 28 and the new Brooklyn-bound span is expected to open to traffic next month, putting the project four years ahead of schedule as its original completion date was booked for early 2024.
The bridge brings drivers from Greenpoint, Brooklyn to the Sunnyside, Maspeth area in Queens and back along the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Once completely open, it will have five Queens-bound traffic lanes and four Brooklyn-bound traffic lanes, as well as a 20-foot-wide bike and pedestrian path.
The first span of the $873 million project opened to traffic in both directions in April 2017, three years after construction began in 2014. The old bridge still standing next to the new span was demolished soon after to allow construction of the second span.
The new Kosciuszko Bridge will be the first new bridge built in the city in 55 years. Its predecessor was built in 1939 and at the time was designed to handle 10,000 vehicles, yet 200,000 vehicles driving over it every day in the 21st century meant severe traffic congestion and delays with daily bottle necking.
With its completion, highway delays in this stretch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway are expected to decrease by about 65 percent.
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10 Comments
If you build it the homeless will take it over like they are doing with the new footbridge.
Is Cuomo going to clean the foot bridge and deal with the homeless that have tents pitched in the area, all the weeds that are over grown and graffiti?
They redid the whole area but they continue to neglect the upkeep.
Is he going to rename the bridge?
Yes, apparently he wants to name after Fredo’s brother. And I’m talking about Michael or Sonny.
Open a bridge to move tens of thousands of cars and trucks more efficiently and you’ll get absolutely no credit, maybe a complaint that there is a bike lane. Take away a completely unneeded lane of traffic for the first few blocks of Skillman Avenue and you get ignorance going way above the speed limit!!!
“CARS AS VILLAINS: the desire of vision zero, transportation alternatives, and the DOT is that, ideally, all cars must go. that is unrealistic with a broken transit system, online commerce exploding, population and development galloping forward, and an aging population – in such a geographically spread-out city.”
The extremely worded, disturbingly paranoid, and astonishingly ignorant screed goes on (and on and on and on) to ultimately declare what they correctly deem is their NEEDLESS WAR on the city over their inability to accept change for the better. They’re even accepting testimonials in a desperate attempt to keep people angry and activated because as they correctly self-assess “it’s about politics, not safety.” Mind-boggling stuff over at our local anti-street safety headquarters!
What the Heck are you talking about? What “screed”? Your own?
Whom are you quoting, please?
Queens Streets for All Facebook post, August 20 at 12:41 PM
Maybe try one less cup of coffee tomorrow.
Talk to them if you have a problem with what they post and when members of the community with a conscience rightfully call them out on it.