Saturday, December 24, 2016

Kew Gardens Interchange work complete

From DNA Info:

Driving around Queens may now be a bit less frustrating, after a major phase of the lengthy Kew Gardens Interchange Project was completed six years after it started, officials said.

The state Department of Transportation just finalized the $159 million reconstruction of a large portion of the Van Wyck Expressway in Kew Gardens and Briarwood, which seeks to reduce congestion and ease traffic flow in the area, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

That phase of the Kew Gardens Interchange project included:

► reconstructing and widening the Van Wyck Expressway between 82nd and Hillside avenues;

► reconstructing the exit ramp from the northbound Van Wyck Expressway to westbound Queens Boulevard;

► constructing several bridges over the Van Wyck Expressway, including the Queens Boulevard Bridge over Main Street;

► building an extra lane on the Van Wyck Expressway between the Grand Central Parkway and Queens Boulevard;

► constructing a dedicated exit lane on the southbound Van Wyck Expressway to Hillside Avenue.

Residents will still, however, have to wait a bit longer for a new elevator at the Briarwood subway station, which was built as part of the project, as well as for three pedestrian plazas and landscaping along Queens Boulevard planned for the Kew Gardens and Briarwood area after it was overtaken by the construction project for many years.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

And now they will start REPAIRS....

Anonymous said...

Now CON-Ed will dig up the roadway to replace some pipes !

Anonymous said...

I wonder if they ever changed to configuration where the Grand Central and the Van Wyck merge southbound? There was no warning signs or anything for many years, all of a sudden the two roads merged.

Anonymous said...

Six years of funding for a two year project.

Honest graft.

Anonymous said...

Ramp from EB GCP to WB Jackie Robinson still has annoying stop sign causing backups.

(sarc) said...

The ramps are a bit wider, otherwise it is the same crap...

Anonymous said...

When will they fix the lighting ? Most of the lighting in that area on the GCP is out in both directions. The DOT is useless.

Anonymous said...

The lighting on the Flushing/Northern Blvd bridge has the "new" non-working LED lights !
The DOT is useless and they make our roadways dangerous to drive especially at night.
Between the missing street lines, huge pot holes and non-working lights it's amazing that more people are not having more accidents !

(sarc) said...

"amazing that more people are not having more accidents !"

The reason people are not having more accidents is the new "Vision Zero" program.

You cannot have an accident when you are traveling at ZERO miles per hour...

Anonymous said...

@Sarc
Yes drivers should not be subject to any speed limits or regulations or tolls !
Only bikes are bad and should be license and insured not your car.
Bikes are evil/cars are great ! Bike lanes suck !
Vision Zero is a government take over and all are cars will be taken away !
I know all this true because I heard it before.

Anonymous said...

>The reason people are not having more accidents is the new "Vision Zero" program.

>You cannot have an accident when you are traveling at ZERO miles per hour...

You cracked the code!

Anonymous said...

It is still the most dangerous road in Queens.