Drivers long cursing the construction delays on the elevated Gowanus Expressway running from Bay Ridge to the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel a.k.a. the Battery Park Tunnel and the BQE Expressway may have noticed the commute has recently been getting better.
That after Governor Andrew M. Cuomo yesterday announced the completion of three highway improvement projects in the City, totaling $367 million, and including both the Gowanus and the Jackie Robinson Parkway in Brooklyn and Queens.
“These highways are vital parts of the Metropolitan area’s transportation network that millions of New Yorkers depend upon,” said Cuomo. “By investing in these critical infrastructure projects, we are helping to ease congestion for these motorists, while also supporting jobs and commerce and helping to support future growth in the greater New York City region.”
The Gowanus Expressway improvements are substantially complete, wrapping up the final two projects totaling $246 million that replaced the deck and pavement on the 5.3-mile elevated highway, widened sections of it, and improved the operations of its High Occupancy Vehicle lane. Finishing work – including installing sidewalks, guiderail and lighting – is scheduled to be completed in this spring.
The latest two Gowanus projects completed the new deck and pavement and included, steel repair on the viaduct, significant structural work, new improved HOV operations and enhanced safety features. Additionally, a new $70 million elevated ramp was constructed at the Shore Parkway Interchange to carry the HOV lane. The HOV lane on the Gowanus now has the capacity to be reversed for the afternoon rush hour.
The Gowanus was also widened at the Prospect Expressway Interchange, as well as between 92nd Street and 6th Avenue.
On the Jackie Robinson Parkway, which extends fromJamaica/Pennsylvania Avenues in Brooklyn to the Van Wyck Expressway/Grand Central Parkway in Queens, $17 million worth of paving and safety improvements were completed. Finishing work, such as landscaping, signage updates and guiderail repairs will be completed in the summer.
Parkway improvements – extending more than five miles – included milling the existing asphalt pavement, repairing the underlying concrete, applying new asphalt concrete and striping the roadway.
Safety improvements included the installation of new signage, providing greater visibility, reflectivity and readability. Reflectors also were added to the outer guide rails and inner concrete barriers, guiding motorists along roadway curves, especially at night. In addition, sight distance was improved between the Metropolitan Avenue underpass and the Metropolitan Avenue entrance ramp in the eastbound direction by removing trees and soil and installing a retaining wall.
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer said said improving traffic flow and increasing safety on our highways is vital for the thousands of New Yorkers who travel these roads during their daily commutes.
“Making these critical fixes to the Gowanus Expressway, and the Jackie Robinson Parkway is exactly how we should invest our federal resources, and will not only make life easier for everyday New Yorkers across the metropolitan area – it will also be a shot in the arm to our regional economy,” said Schumer.
