Kosciuszko Bridge reconstruction will improve travel for cars, bikes and pedestrians

Image source: rollingrck on Flickr

The Kosciuszko Bridge, which spans Newtown Creek to connect Brooklyn and Queens on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, is going to be rebuilt starting in the spring of 2013. The $460 million project was fast-tracked to begin a year earlier than originally planned, and is expected to be finished in the summer of 2016, according to the New York State Department of Transportation.

Originally opened in 1939, the aging Kosciuszko Bridge is first on the list of “most troubled” state-owned elevated roadways and bridges. And as BQE drivers know, traffic is often backed up on the route between Brooklyn and Queens. The design, currently a truss bridge with six lanes and no room for bikes and pedestrians, will be updated to a cable-stayed bridge with nine vehicle lanes and a bike and pedestrian path.

See this video simulation made by Parsons Brinckerhoff Project Visualization to show what the new bridge will look like from various viewpoints and from the perspective of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

The initial phase of construction will take place next to the existing bridge, so traffic can still flow along the BQE during that time. As more details become available, we’ll update you about how the rest of the reconstruction project will affect your BQE commute.