BQE 2023 Interim Repairs Project
Sections of the BQE, built between the 1930s and 1960s, are in acute need of structural repairs. Through this joint project, New York City and New York State will work together to make repairs on defective sections of the BQE and begin working on a community-driven plan for a safe, modern, and resilient roadway while taking advantage of federal infrastructure money.
The BQE plays a major role in moving people and goods locally and regionally. The expressway carries an estimated 129,000 vehicles a day and consists of twelve miles of roadway, bridges, trenches, and viaducts running through Brooklyn and Queens, including the triple cantilevered section underneath the Brooklyn Promenade. Residents and city officials have been expressing concerns about the BQE’s structural integrity for nearly a decade. For purposes of the repairs, New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) has delineated three sections of the BQE: BQE North, running from Sands street to the Kosciusko Bridge, BQE Central, consisting of the city owned structures from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street, and BQE South, running from Atlantic Avenue to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
As part of the repairs project, DOT will make urgent repairs to the Atlantic-to-Sands section to ensure its safety, while working with communities along the BQE corridor to envision and design a modernized, resilient structure with significant public space upgrades and safety improvements for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists. The BQE North and South project engagement will identify strategies to reconnect communities who are divided by the highway and have been left out of previous BQE engagement processes. This project will follow four guiding principles: 1) stakeholder involvement, 2) Urgency and Resiliency, 3) Equity, 4) Fiscal Responsibility.
BQE repairs will involve 3 weekend closures between March and October of 2023, which will reroute BQE traffic through Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, and sections of CB14. Specifically, some truck traffic will be rerouted down Caton Avenue.
Resources:
- BQE Corridor Vision Website
- Provide Feedback via NYC DOT’s BWE webform
- James Barron, “How Do You Solve a Problem Like the B.Q.E.?” New York Times, Dec 2022
Timeline
Design, Construction and Ongoing Engagement for BQE Central
Urgent repairs as needed & Design-Build Procurement for BQE Central
Design and implementation of short-term improvements on BQE North & South
Ongoing public engagement activities for BQE Central
3 planned closures of BQE for repairs
Exact dates TBD
In-person and virtual workshops hosted by NYC DOT
Preliminary design concept for BQE Central unveiled
DOT held public workshops
CB14 Transportation Committee Meeting discussed BQE repairs project
Watch meeting
DOT held in-person and virtual workshops about BQE North and South
DOT held in-person and virtual workshops about BQE Central
Workshops were held about BQE Central to understand community needs, preferences and priorities. DOT named members of the BQE Community Visioning Council & Community Partner Program to advise DOT and its consultants on engagement content and strategies, discuss emerging concerns, plan for future engagement, process information from past engagement, and share feedback.
DOT meeting with CB14, 12 & 7 on BQE Interim Repair Detours
The NYC DOT provided a presentation on planned detours related to BQE interim repairs scheduled to take place in 2023. Hosted by Assemblymember Robert Carroll in partnership with the Transportation Committees from Brooklyn CB 14, 12 and 7. Watch
Public engagement process announced to accelerate long-term BQE fix
Mayor Adams and NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced community engagement process to inform long-term fixes to the BQE and advance planning effort to reconnect communities along the Brooklyn corridor. Press release
BQE constructed
Documents, Presentations and Videos
November 2, 2022 CB14 Transportation Committee Meeting
September 22, 2022 DOT Meeting with CB14, 12 and 7
Presentation on interim repairs to CB2 & CB6, June 2022:
View the NYC Department of Transportation presentation on the BQE 2023 Interim Repairs Project (presented to CB2 & CB6, June 2022):