Results tagged “nycroads”

The American Institute of Architects is looking to supplant the idea of replacing the Gowanus Expressway with a tunnel, and instead proposes a suspended highway and formation of a Gowanus Greenway. In 2006, the Dept. of Transportation gave a green light to a $12.8 billion proposal to build a 3.5 mile, seven lane tunnel underneath the Brooklyn Waterfront and then destroying the elevated highway. The plan for a Gowanus Tunnel appears to be in perpetual stall though, and would take approximately 15 years to finish.

Could it be true? The New York Post is reporting that the DoT has approved a plan to build a 3.5 mile, $12.8 billion, seven lane tunnel under the Brooklyn waterfront, and then demolish the existing Gowanus Expressway. If funded, the project could be complete in about 15 years. Since Robert Moses approved construction of the expressway over a disused elevated rail in 1939, the highway has been a huge headache for the city. It's perpetually under-construction, traffic clogged, and worst of all, it cuts off all of Red Hook and the Sunset Park Waterfront from the rest of Brooklyn. Just as the Cross Bronx Expressway cut off the South Bronx from the rest of the city and caused it to spiral into decline, Moses' Gowanus project resulted in a crime-ridden, rubble strewn Brooklyn waterfront, where there could have been a vibrant neighborhood filled with puppies and parks and families. That bastard!

Hmm, it seems that Congress has approved $2.5 million to help bury the West Side Highway at West 61st Street - which would help Donald Trump's Trump Place development. Last week, Congress passed a $284 million highway spending bill, and there was this little boon for the man with the craziest combover this side of Giuliani. Trump has been lobbying non-stop, much to the dismay of neighbors, for the development, from getting the West 72nd Street exit for the West Side Highway closed to getting special zoning for the development. Putting the West Side Highway underground would ensure better views and more parking for Trump Place residents, but the thing is that to put the West Side Highway underground, it would costs millions of dollars.

The Williamsburg Bridge celebrated its 100th birthday yesterday, and Newsday reports that literally in-his-face demonstrators caused Mayor Bloomberg to leave the festivities early. (They were protesting a firehouse closing.) Newsday also has a slideshow of the activities, and you can see the Mayor in a sexy yellow sweater.