New Kosciuszko Bridge Won't Come Cheap
In October, a Department of Transportation panel narrowed the list of potential designs for the new Kosciuszko Bridge down to three finalists, including what The Brooklyn Paper calls the front runner, above. In addition to a new look, the bridge of the future will have nine lanes instead of six (yay!) as well as a…
In October, a Department of Transportation panel narrowed the list of potential designs for the new Kosciuszko Bridge down to three finalists, including what The Brooklyn Paper calls the front runner, above. In addition to a new look, the bridge of the future will have nine lanes instead of six (yay!) as well as a bike and pedestrian lane; the whole thing will be set at less of an incline than the current structure because tall boats no longer go underneath. All this good stuff won’t come cheap though: We’re looking at a $1 billion price tag. Sounds like a lot of dough to us, but apparently that’s what it takes to get bridge builders out of bed these days. For a bridge that is a mile long in New York City, $1 billion is the going rate, said DOT spokesman Adam Levine. The Feds will pay 80% of the freight, leaving the state with the rest. But the state is now talking about slashing its transportation spending, so it remains to be seen of the bridge, over which 160,000 vehicles pass every day, makes the cut.
The Billion-Dollar Bridge! [Brooklyn Paper]
Can’t we just fill in Newtown Creek with cement? So like that those idiots that don’t know how to drive up the bridge will not cause traffic by not stepping on the gas. Can’t we use low paying illegal immigrants to do the work just like we use them for everything else in this country?
I usually take the bus or train to downtown Brooklyn or Ft. Greene except at night when I drive.
I am fearful of bike riding; sorry but I just don’t want to go splat. I’m a single mom. My daughter wants to bike-ride but I am inclined to say no. (She’s 13.5.)
I travel against the rush hour traffic so it’s pretty easy with very few traffic jams. If we are running late, I drive my daughter to middle school (20 min vs. 35 min. on the train and on foot: A train from Nostrand to Borough Hall; F train to East Broadway; walk 5 blocks south on Madison to Catherie, 2 blocks east on Catherine) on the Lower East Side then to Delancey to the Williamsburg Bridge, then to the BQE, etc. When we lived in Clinton Hill and she went to school in central Chinatown it took 15 mins in the car and 40 mins on the train.
After many failed experiments, I can now get off the highway and make my way through the streets from any exit but it usually takes longer that way. Coming home I get off at Metropolitan Ave. and go down Union Ave. to Harrison to Tompkins to Hancock to Marcy. But it took a long time before I could find my way through Williamsburg and Greenpoint.
bf: So, then you haven’t experienced the sometimes 30 minutes backup delay described in post by tyburg6 (“I’ve been stuck around there for 1/2 hr easy”)? That would make at least one of your one way trips y your estimate 50-55 minutes (if you can find a parking spot right in front of your job) — an extra twenty by train and reading time.
In fact I look up on that clogged freeway often and see standstill traffic at different hours of the night and day. All those particles from car exhaust float and drop into different neighborhoods—and into the lungs of people and their kids. Someone should figure out a way to visually show the flow of emissions particles off high traffic areas into neighborhoods.
And if you want to go to Downtown Brooklyn, Ft. Greene, Park Slope, Williamsburg or Prospect Park, do you ride bike or drive? Because it’s no more than a half an hour from Marcy and Monroe. And with a saddle pack on the back of a bike you can haul lots of groceries (I use a regular camping backpack).
RF — Did you even touch a highway to go between Bed-Stuy and Jackson Heights? Sounds like you’re creating a beautiful red herring here….
Posted by: tybur6 at November 6, 2009 11:10 PM
Marcy Ave. to Monroe St. to Classon Ave. to BQE (past Williamsburg Bridge merge then over Kosciusko Bridge, past LIE interchange) to Broadway/37th Ave. exit; 37th Ave. to 85th St. to 34th Ave. to 86th St.
I can take Marcy to Madison St. to Bushwick Ave. to the Jackie Robinson Parkway to Grand Central Parkway to Northern Blvd. to 86th St., but it takes longer.
rf: Yes, as I mentioned in one of my notes, that’s a big catch in the discussion, having kids. I don’t, and I am always amazed at the amount of energy and focus it takes in this city for parents to get the simplest thing done. It’s really impressive.
It really wouldn’t have to be like that if we didn’t have such corrupt and greedy politicians running things. I mean, instead of billion dollar bridges, ticker tape parades, TV political campaign ads (the ultimate waste of money!), helicopter rides and subsidies for luxury high rises, there could be some help with things like child care, decent schools for people who can’t afford private schools, affordable housing and innovative transportation policies.
We all should have more time to read up on stuff, do Soduku or just meditate. It’d be good for everyone we cross paths with daily. It’s hard to keep a positive attitude, but what other choice is there?
RF — Did you even touch a highway to go between Bed-Stuy and Jackson Heights? Sounds like you’re creating a beautiful red herring here….
OK, Epiphany, if you agree to wake my daughter up and make sure she leaves for school on time, and then come home and make her dinner, I would love to have 140 minutes to read on the subway and bus, vs. less than an hour in the car.
I do miss my subway reading time. And yes, I read a lot of NY Times, novels, and I even did plenty of Sudoku waiting for the G train.
Hi folks;
I’m back from a day driving my mother-in-law all around Queens, to take care of some business.
Sorry, I’m not buying the arguments above that the cost of this bridge is driven higher by the density of the city. This bridge is being built in an area of the city that is relatively low-density, especially on the Queens side.
RF: I wasn’t born yesterday, and know darn well that the cost includes the interchanges (I’m a mechancial engineer).
I agree with Minard. This bridge will probably cost double the projected amount. The cost situation in NYC is outrageous.
(a followup on my last statement) Actually, rf, I think that the real sloution is to get excellent cross and interborough public transportation planned, but I made a math error in my above idea on how to make the best of a crappy situation. (see above posting). I only took into account one way of a two hour trip. So you’d have been able to read 38 novels.
Unfortunately, New York politicians can’t find their way into a paper bag (unless it’s filled with money). So it might be best to do everything possible to fend for ourselves and figure out the work/transportation situation on our own.