New Design for Kosciuszko Bridge Set in Stone
A new design’s been chosen for the rehabilitation of the Kosciuszko Bridge. The design, one out of four proposed to Brooklyn and Queens residents, is the same one the Brooklyn Paper called the front runner last November. Along with a new aesthetic, the bridge will be widened from six to nine lanes and get a…
A new design’s been chosen for the rehabilitation of the Kosciuszko Bridge. The design, one out of four proposed to Brooklyn and Queens residents, is the same one the Brooklyn Paper called the front runner last November. Along with a new aesthetic, the bridge will be widened from six to nine lanes and get a shoulder and a bike lane. Gone will be Kosciuszko’s steep incline. The billion dollars needed to build it has been lined up through federal funding, with a tentative completion date of 2017.
Meet the New Kosc [Brooklyn Paper]
New Kosciuszko Bridge Won’t Come Cheap [Brownstoner]
benson — why are you attacking me for defeatism?? For liking the design? I was responding to DIBS point that he thought it pointless to increase lanes on the bridge if the roadway funnelled back to 3 at each end. I was pointing out that that wasn’t the case. I said nothing about unions, construction time or wind turbines (which I support in TX and MA). Why are you picking this fight with me?
Perfectly appropriate that RF posts an article in the NYT about wind turbine noise. The wind turbines planned for Cape Cod are TEN MILES off the caostline. RF: do you think that the people on Cape Cod shore will hear that noise?
NIMBYism at its finest.
Bkre;
You are creating a red herring. Please read what I wrote again. Nowhere do I say anything about workplace safety rules.
I do not believe it takes severn years to build this bridge because of workplace safety rules. Again, I’ll use the offshore wind turbine example (because this is an area with which I deal with). The main difference between what is happening in Texas and the Northeast is due to three factors: NIMBYism, environmental regulations and the speed of the permitting process. No one has been killed and injured in the construction of the turbines off of Texas.
About a year ago, I went to a seminar in Wshington DC regarding the regulatory approvals necessary to build offshore wind turbines in the Northeast. The lecture lasted for two hours, and it listed about 20 permits that had to be obtained. Some were legitimate (shipping channels, military fly-space) to the downright ludicrous (effects on bat migratory patterns).
Of course, at the seminar there were booths of well-dressed layers and environmental consultant ready to “assist” (read: mooch) in this process.
China: Command economy. High rate of construction fatalities. Unlimited centralized planning power to throw people out of their homes, disrupt community patterns, etc. Things get built relatively quickly.
India: Market economy. High rate of construction fatalities. Limited centralized planning power and culture of enterpreneurship. Things get built relatively slowly.
Texas: ?
Brooklyn: ?
Wind farms:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/energy-environment/06noise.html
I hate when people quote that 13 month time frame for the Empire State Building. It’s such a simple-minded and misleading argument for so many reasons. You DO realize that about 6 people died in the construction of the ESB right? I, for one, would rather save those six lives and have the construction take a bit longer. Benson, you make a lot of interesting points on this blog and in general serve as an interesting counterpoint to the typical Brownstoner mentality, but this stupid ESB argument is disappointing coming from someone like you, who understands all the changes in the construction business over the least 60 years, and should know better.
Slopefarm and architect66;
Your statements strike me as the sort of defeatism we have accepted in NY, and the Northeast in general. Wow, the ramp to a bridge has to be connected to other highways. Who knew?
For the record: it took THIRTEEN months to build the Bronx-Whitestone bridge. I’m pretty sure it is connected to other highways. It took the same amount of time to build the Empire State building.
How about acknowledging some truths for once: between the onerous permit process, environmental regulations, community “reviews”, union work rules, etc. it takes FOREVER to get anyhting done in this town. Here we are talking about seven years to build a second-tier bridge.
If you really want to see the difference, look at the offshore wind turbine business. Here in the Northeast, where folks like to loudly pronounce their greeness, it has been TEN YEARS and counting to build a single wind farm off of Cape Cod. Meanwhile, Texas leads the nation in offshore wind farms, and they are currently building more.
The traffic disruptions from rebuilding the BQE through downtown Brooklyn (Tillary to Hamilton) will be much worse than this!
Mark my words – this is the single most important construction project in Brooklyn right now. I am extremely psyched that a design has been chosen and funding is in place. Let’s get this baby started.