On building the new Kosciuszko Bridge

From the Queens Gazette:

Plans for the Kosciuszko Bridge have been debated for many years. Adam Levine and Robert Adams of the state Department of Transportation told the Board 2 members and the audience at the Sunnyside Community Services Center, that after studying the possibilities of repairing the 1939 bridge in place or building an entirely new one while leaving the old open to traffic, the latter was chosen by state DOT. The obviously greater expense of the latter choice would be justified over the years—and the truly great faults of the old structure would no longer be a concern. And thus, what the state DOT calls the greatest project it has ever undertaken will commence. Where the old bridge had six lanes, the new bridge will have nine, with five in constant flow toward either Brooklyn or Queens and four for the entrance and exit ramps. When the new bridge is completed, as it is expected to be in 2013, the old one will come down. The DOT officials told the meeting that a bikeway/walkway is a feature of the new bridge, while at the base of the bridge, park and waterway facilities will replace the currently dismal (and state-owned) shoreline. The latest documents for the project are available for viewing at the Queens Borough Public Library Sunnyside branch, 43-06 Greenpoint Ave.