(Via Governor’s office)
April 25, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
The first part of the new Kosciuszko Bridge will open this week with an elaborate light show.
The first piece of the new bridge connecting Queens and Brooklyn will officially open to traffic in both directions on Thursday, and will kick off its first day with a huge light show set to music, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday,
In celebration of the first new bridge in the City since the Verrazano Bridge in 1964 (which connects Brooklyn to Staten Island), “The New York Harbor of Lights” multi-color LED light show will begin on Thursday night on the bridge, and will be set to music airing on multiple iHeartRadio stations. It will also be coordinated with a light show on the Empire State Building.
The new bridge has an advanced lighting system for such celebrations. The system will be added to all seven MTA-operated bridges and tunnels, as well as the George Washington Bridge, by May 2018.
The lights will have ability to be coordinated to music and to one another for special events, and are expected to help boost tourism, according to Cuomo’s announcement.
The Kosciusko Bridge project will replace the existing 78-year-old bridge, which will be partially demolished this summer to make way for the second phase of the project. The new bridge is expected to serve 200,000 people each day.
“The Empire State is undertaking the most ambitious infrastructure program in the nation, and the new Kosciuszko Bridge will be an iconic New York structure for generations to come,” Cuomo said. “The new bridge – the first major New York City Bridge to open in more than 50 years – will bring much-needed relief to commuters and be a spectacular addition to the New York City skyline.
When completed, the new Kosciuszko Bridge will have a Queens-bound bridge, which will carry five lanes of traffic, and a separate Brooklyn-bound bridge that will carry four lanes, as well as a 20-feet-wide bikeway and walkway with views of Manhattan. It is expected to be completed by 2020.
The first phase of the project saw the construction of the Queens-bound bridge, but it will hold three lanes of traffic going in each direction until the Brooklyn-bound bridge is completed.
The project is moving along ahead of schedule, and the Brooklyn-bound bridge is expected to open in early 2020, four years ahead of schedule, according to Cuomo.
“It is a vibrant symbol of how the State is not just talking about moving vital infrastructure projects forward, but actually getting them done and restoring New York’s tradition of excellence,” Cuomo said.
The old Kosciuszko Bridge is expected to be imploded this summer.
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37 Comments
Does it come with coffee?
Yes and a sanwich.
Great a bridge with a lite show. Their will be a lot of accidants on the bqe now.
Oh..Can the ASSHOLE Politicians stop patting themselves on their backs.. The FRIGGING Bridge was built with our Money…AND our Labor…Can people stop glorifying these B.S politico hacks,they are spending are money,and then saying WHAT IS CAESAR’S, BELONGS TO CAESAR, WHAT IS THE PUBLIC’S BELONGS AlSO TO CAESAR… Politians are Jackasses..all of them.. ALL.Except,Huey Long….read the History, I’m BEING sarcastic
Darla lind, put your reading glasses on, im lost in the sauce, not space you bleeding heart. So you shut up, jump with Barbara, be #1 & #2.
How long before the city council decides to add a toll and change the name of the bridge?..After all how many liberals know who Kosciusko was or really care? Surely they would prefer to name it after a counter culture or communist icon..Che Guevara, Castro, or Bruce( Katelyn ) Jenner…
What do you know about Kosciuszko? (You don’t even spell it correctly) He was quite progressive in his own right.
Hey Mac,. get your own screen name ok? not funny
Mac,,please be extra careful riding your bicycle around town the police are giving out tickets
We could name it after the many right wing nuts in our nation. Steve “Nazi’s R Us” Bannon, Wayne “only 91 deaths a day via gun in the US” LaPierre, Mitch “Obstructionist Snapping Turtle” McConnell, Paul “I only had a few years to figure out a better plan for Obamacare” Ryan, Donald “The Gropenfuhrer” Trump, Bill “I’m not guilty of harassing women, but paid them off anyway” O’Reilly, Ted “I haven’t been a relevant musician since the 70’s” Nugent, or, maybe name it after trump’s Vladdy Daddy, “Putin Bridge”! You can pay the toll in rubles.
You mention the whopping 91 deaths daily, resulting from gunfire.
Yet a liberal like you probably thinks nothing of the 4000+ unborn children who are aborted in the same time period.
I would also suspect that those 91 daily deaths occur in liberally controlled cities like Chicago, Washington DC, or Los Angeles which, coincidentally, have the most restrictive gun laws.
Why “suspect” when you could actually do some research? Anyhow, you are being silly.
Cw- a conservative like you cries to cut gov’t spending on education other social programs geared at children now you want to ad 1.1 million children a year to those programs. Can you say hypocrite?
Cw- Since America has open borders, local gun laws are only as strong as the weakest link in that chain of states. Nice try.
@CW Is it that hard to just google a fact or two? Oh that’s right you’re a conservative and believe in alternate facts in your alternate universe. According to FBI statistics on 2015 gun violence. The 20 states with the highest amount of gun violence in US. Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Montana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Tennessee, South Carolina, Missouri, West Virginia, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia and Utah. Looks like an over representation of Conservative Republican controlled states. Gun violence is directly tied to poverty levels in US. Is that why you think gun violence would be in “liberal” cities like Seattle, Honolulu, Boston, Salt Lake City and San Francisco?
And think of all of the children whose lives were senselessly prevented through the use of birth control! For shame.
Maga- Ask any Trump supporter who Kosciusko was and you will get an alternate fact. Liberals are better educated then so called conservatives, fact. Fox News is always crying educators, writers, artist, judges, lawyers, healthcare providers are all liberals
Ain’t it weird that there is such a vast liberal conspiracy, and all the folks involved are generally intelligent, successful, and influential.
Meanwhile, the true heroes (us conservatives) are obsessed with blaming others and insisting everything is awful and can’t seem to provide any solutions beyond limiting the rights of the powerless?
Anyways I better tune in to my favorite fox news anchor before he’s sent on vacation. Why can’t we catch a break?
Lost in space that’s really cold hearted of you. May God bless you and turn your heart in peace.
one old bridge that wore out its welcome being replaced by a new shiny one
sounds like the story of Mario and Andrew Cuomo
nice bridge but Im surprised this guys still in office with the corruption around him. A few weeks ago he signed off on all NYS and NYC school tuition free for many. Gotta keep the good news coming and the light shows a-blazing so no one has time to ask him about what went down with him and his buddies in Buffalo.
Buffalo? Don’t you mean Albany?
I’m not sure if I trust your opinion on political corruption on account of you not knowing the capital of the state. Enjoy the bridge.
Google “Buffalo Billion”, its about a massive revitalization project for the Buffalo area. Read your news El Loco. I know my state capitol.
I googled, and the capital is in fact in Albany. I am correct
Doosh had to google albany
No thanks!
I’m gonna check out this bridge!
Actually this took shorter than we expected, great job, finally we are speeding up the production of bridges to compete with Europe and Asia, where they still take half the time to build their bridges and tunnels. And finally bridges actually look good, not just hunk of metal like it was before.
Does anyone know where we can get info on that lightshow, and what are good viewing spots?
From Gothamist: “The lights will turn on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., and will coordinate with the spire of the Empire State Building. Cuomo will stand by the bridge for some remarks, alongside massive speakers. Tune into iHeartRadio to experience the sound-and-light show from afar.”. I’d suggest Review / Rust Aves for viewing.
Thanks, but the view will be blocked by the old bridge on Review Ave side. Rust ave, maybe but with new construction that side might be blocked too, what do you think?
True…I bet the parking lot of Restaurant Depot on 57th Ave would be perfect!
Funny How Mayor “Lerch Adam’s Family” De Blasio and Andrew ” Sy Sperling Hair Club for Men” Coumo have two events in the area in Queens – De Blasio on Thursday, April 27 at 7PM at Queens Vocational H.S. called a Town Hall meeting and Coumo has his Bridge lighting ceremony both at 7 PM. it’s like they are trying to outdo each other… WG
What’s the funny part?
His spelling.
the funny part is that DeBlasio is suppose to speak at the Town Hall Meeting in Sunnyside and knowing him he probably will not show up to this but go to the Bridge lighting ceremony and that leaves us with just JVB which probably won’t be any good –
Great news!
Beautiful. I love bridges!
Has anyone gone over the bridge yet?