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]
Pete;
Nice try. It will require physical labor to build a bridge ANYWHER, and corporations will be in charge of the contracting ANYWHERE. The big difference between NYC and other places are these: unions and their onerous work rules, and the heavy regulations here.
How much would it cost to build this bridge outside of NYC?? I would wager anyone on this site that it would cost 50% less. The reason?? Once again, the toxic combination of unions, heavy taxation and onerous regulations.
“Fill in the creek?!?!?!?! Aren’t you concerned about the ancient multi-ethnic burial grounds on the bottom of this creek????
You’re banished from this site for 24 hours, for speaking such heresy.”
LMAO Benson – don’t worry this is Greenpoint/Queens and there’s no Brownstones – the Brownstoner faithful won’t mind.
Hmm. A billion for a bridge, or a billion for a stadium? Sounds like a no-brainer to me, right?
DIBS, it wouldn’t be cheaper, you’d have to bring the whole BQE down to surface level too, or the rake would be too steep.
In addition to being in a state of poor repair, the old bridge is steep, winding, and narrow, so that trucks have a hard time climbing and descending. This causes huge delays.
Because Newtown Creek is navigable water, the bridge either has to be really tall, or movable. That’s a big factor in driving up the cost, along with the union labor, regulations, etc. Maybe they should reassess how tall it really needs to be to accommodate the barge traffic the canal still gets. How often does the Pulaski Bridge, which is much lower, have to be opened to let boats pass?
my math only off by factor of 10 Mr. Wizard.
So how much do bridges cost these days anyway? I haven’t appraised them lately. Yes, does sound like handsome amt.
Just annoying how you blame people that would actually do the physical labor as reason for high cost rather than corporations that will make the more dramatic profits.
Who will do the bidding and how much do they contribute to those that can pick the winner.
And don’t forget the extra costs because of whiney NYers who think that any major construction project should somehow not inconvenience them in the least.
DIBS;
Fill in the creek?!?!?!?! Aren’t you concerned about the ancient multi-ethnic burial grounds on the bottom of this creek????
You’re banished from this site for 24 hours, for speaking such heresy.
How much would it cost to fill in the creek instead?????
Uh, Pete, I think your math is off by a factor of about 100 or so. We’re talking ONE BILLION DOLLARS to basically build an overpass over a small creek.