Residents Want "21st Century Solution" for BQE

Last night’s meeting of the BQE shareholders was the followup to the previous scare that the reconstruction of the triple-cantilever portion of the BQE could take some historic Brooklyn Heights homes with it. That threat wasn’t on the table last night, but there were serious concerns about how the project, not slated to begin until around 2018, would evolve. There are currently nine proposals for reconstruction, with the cost ranging from $200 million to $20.7 billion. The cheapest plan, which was criticized as a “paint job,” would be a rehabilitation of the current alignment of the BQE. The most expensive plan involves an “outboard tunnel connecting Greenpoint (BQE exit 33) to the north and Sunset Park to the south (65th Street).” All the options are drawn out in the map above, and you can click through to read all of the proposals. The biggest concern in the audience was the actual budget of the plan, which has not yet been determined. The next meeting should happen in about one month and reveal more as to plausible options based on funding. Meanwhile, one member of the audience urged the reps from the State DOT to “stop acting like a 3rd world country” (concerning the simplest of rehabilitation plans) while another said “Rebuilding the 1920s design is absolutely stupid.” Instead the crowd asked for a “21st century solution,” with an audience member saying, “We need to bring Brooklyn to the 21st and 22nd century.”
Heights Homes Could Be Taken in BQE Fix [Brownstoner]

R-1: Rehab with current alignment. Cost: $200-280M
CS-1: Would closely follow the existing alignment to avoid built structures. Cost: $788-988M
T-1: Tunnel with horizontal alignment following Hicks/Henry St. to Tillary. The existing BQE infrastructure would be maintained as a collector-distributor roadway. Cost: $2.28B-2.95B
T-2: Tunnel with horizontal alignment similar to the existing alignment. Cost: $3,61B-4.73B
T-3: Tunnel alignment approximately north of the existing alignment with a subaqueous segment between Atlantic Avenue and Doughty Street. Cost: $4.46B-5.87B
W-1: Tunnel with horizontal alignment approximately following Willow Street to Tillary Street. Cost: $4.45B – 5.79B
W-2: Horizontal alignment would run approximately in a straight line tunnel between BQE exits 24 and 30 – avoiding neighborhoods approximately west of 4th-Lafayette-Washington Avenues. Cost: $4.89B-$6.38B
W-3: Outboard tunnel connecting Greenpoint (BQE exit 33) to the north and Sunset Park to the south (65th Street) Cost: 15.03B-20.7B
W-4: Tunnel with horizontal alignment following 4th Ave, and curve east north of Flatbush Ave to meet the BQE at Exit 30 (Park Ave.) Cost: $6.68B-8.77B