$1.7 Billion Repair Project Slated For Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is slated for a major rehabilitation project -- one that could cause potential traffic headaches for the thousands of commuters that traverse the aged outer-borough roadway every day.
More: Read The Full Plan
The ambitious $1.7 billion undertaking aims to repair a 1.5 mile stretch of the highway, which features 21 concrete and steel bridges towering over city streets, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
"The BQE project, what we're calling "Sands To Atlantic," is a huge, challenging, almost once-in-a-lifetime project," Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said.
According to the DOT, the rehabilitation plan will work to revitalize the roadway's crumbling, decades-old infrastructure, repair potholes and improve road accessibility.
The project is slated to begin in two years and will take around five years to complete, Trottenberg said.
Though the exact trajectory for the project's timeline has not yet been finalized, Trottenberg says keeping traffic moving is a priority. A number of traffic lanes will remain open during construction, and work is expected to be done in segments.
"I can commit that we're going to work as hard as we can to mitigate the impact as best we can," Trottenberg said. "We're going to bring in some of the best traffic experts."
However, some commuters are not convinced.
"I don't think so -- it's been 20 years I've been driving this BQE and never -- always the same thing," Edison, a mail truck driver, told 1010 WINS' John Montone.
"It's like it's always overcrowded, always construction, always some accidents, truck accidents," another Uber driver said.
According to the DOT, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway caters to more than 140,000 travelers every day.
