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State leaders gathered Friday to celebrate the official opening of two bridges in Jamaica spanning the Van Wyck Expressway that were constructed and put in place with minimal impact on traffic, officials say.

The $36-million project to replace the bridges, at Jamaica Avenue and Hillside Avenue, took five years to complete and will aid with congestion.

Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) commended the State Department of Transportation and other agencies for their efforts to improve traffic flow in Queens.

“It’s all about making New York State the number one state in this country,” he said.

Adam Levine, a spokesman for NYSDOT, said the department had not conducted any major rehabilitation work on the two bridges since they were first installed in the 1950s. Such rehab work would typically involve replacing the concrete and steel in the bridges; however, by replacing the crossing, the department was able to expand the width of the expressway below, increasing its acceleration and deceleration lanes.

Realizing the possible effect on traffic, the department used a new method for highways where it built the new bridges alongside the old bridges. When the bridges were built and the roadwork complete, the old bridges were put on rollers and moved out and the new ones were moved in to place.

The project was finally completed in May.

“Our engineers saw the potential traffic nightmare this essential work could have created, worked with the community and our City agency partners and came up with a solution that was a resounding success,” stated NYSDOT Commissioner Astrid Glynn.

The Van Wyck is a major route to John F. Kennedy International Airport as well as a major thruway for commercial truck traffic, so construction under the traditional method could have caused serious, extended traffic conerns.

Dave Rosen, president of the nearby Jamaica Medical Center, called the project an “engineering marvel.”

“It was moved into place without serious disruption to traffic,” he said.

“The state’s expressways are a vital part of the day to day lifestyle of all New Yorkers,” Sen. Smith stated. “Employing the innovative in-and-out technique to successfully install two new bridges in one of the most congestive-prone areas in the borough is truly exceptional.”