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Highways Upgrade To Handle More Cars

Recently completed construction makes the trip out of Queens Midtown Tunnel a breeze. Tribune Photo By Ira Cohen

By Michael Rehak

As Queens soars its way into the 21st century with massive development projects and an ever-growing population, it comes as no surprise that state and city agencies have been working feverishly to keep up with the trend by improving the borough’s roadways.

Projects currently in the works include reconstructing overpasses, realigning highways and expressways and making several interchanges less congested.

Some require simple and less expensive methods, but while the state Department of Transportation continues to study trends, projects in Queens are going to take months, even years to complete due to the high costs and complicated plans. It appears that nearly every single Queens highway will get at least some work within the next few years.

Of the many projects, one that is expected to be completed by December is the Jamaica and Hillside Avenue bridges that cross over the Van Wyck Expressway. The passageway is no stranger to closed lanes and nearly 24-hour traffic congestion throughout the entire stretch of highway that runs north to south from the Whitestone Expressway to JFK Airport.

Just mentioning the Van Wyck can irritate a driver, though congestion was supposed to have been alleviated by the AirTrain that coasts over drivers’ heads.

Another major roadway that is undergoing a decade of construction with still a few years to go is the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. In May 2005 workers wrapped up the BQE’s connection to the Grand Central Parkway, a project spanning from Broadway to 25th Avenue. Since that time, motorists have been navigating with one less lane 24 hours a day, though, because the next phase of the project has been started.

According to its Web site, the project is one of DOT’s largest ever, with an initial price tag of about $215 million. Additional costs have brought the final bill to more than $250 million.

The first phase of BQE redevelopment, titled the Single Point Urban Interchange at Northern Boulevard, replaced 16 overpass bridges, laid down a high durability pavement, improved vertical and horizontal alignments, breakdown lanes, a new drainage system, a new lighting system and new signage. A total of 4 miles of new retaining walls were constructed and three miles of new concrete highway pavement was placed. Certain local streets surrounding the BQE were also rehabilitated.

Phase Two, currently underway, has closed the Roosevelt Avenue exit entirely and runs from 61st Street to Broadway.

On the North side of Queens, the northbound Whitestone Expressway has entered its final stage of work, which is expected to be completed by 2008.

Called the Flushing River Bridge Replacement Project, so far the expressway has been rehabilitated from Linden Place to Third Avenue in College Point. This year, the DOT has also finished its redevelopment of the expressway’s northbound connection bridge that leads to the Van Wyck.

According to the DOT, work will be completed on the southbound side by June 2007.