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Author Topic: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway  (Read 13394 times)

RobbieL2415

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Re: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
« Reply #25 on: April 22, 2019, 06:26:24 PM »

This is a genuinely fictional idea going off Google Maps. First, eliminate the jog NW bast Tillary St.  Demolish the viaduct from there to Atlantic Ave and build a 6-lane tunnel connecting those two points.  Underground connections are made for the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.  The other (and current) option is to use Tillary St. for all bridge connections.  Second, build a 6-lane tunnel from the jct. of the BQE and NY 27 NE to the bend at Park Ave.  Such a tunnel would be built below the Subway tracks.  This would reduce trip time for non-Bridge-bound traffic.

Again, HIGHLY fictional.
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1995hoo

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Re: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
« Reply #26 on: April 28, 2019, 01:05:56 PM »

^ But will still poison you nonetheless...

I believe the quote was intended to highlight Moses' aversion to tunnels.  Remember, he wanted a bridge for the Brooklyn-Battery.

Did Bob want a tunnel where the QMT is?

ixnay

Moses wanted to scrap the plans for the Midtown Tunnel in favor of a bridge but didn't have a lot of choice in the matter because some federal funds had already been approved and would have been jeopardized had the project been delayed to study a bridge. Moreover, at the time there was a separate authority established to build the tunnel; Moses was in charge of the Triboro Bridge Authority, which was the only agency allowed to build and operate a toll bridge entirely within city limits, but his agency didn't have power over the Midtown Tunnel (or its construction) at that time.
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"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

ixnay

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Re: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
« Reply #27 on: April 28, 2019, 05:21:58 PM »

Moses was in charge of the Triboro Bridge Authority, which was the only agency allowed to build and operate a toll bridge entirely within city limits, but his agency didn't have power over the Midtown Tunnel (or its construction) at that time.

If I'm reading http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/queens-midtown/ right, the QMT project during its gestation was in the hands of the NYC Tunnel Authority.

ixnay
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The Washington/Baltimore/Arlington CSA has two Key Bridges, a Minnesota Avenue, and a Mannasota Avenue.

1995hoo

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Re: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
« Reply #28 on: April 28, 2019, 05:25:36 PM »

Moses was in charge of the Triboro Bridge Authority, which was the only agency allowed to build and operate a toll bridge entirely within city limits, but his agency didn't have power over the Midtown Tunnel (or its construction) at that time.

If I'm reading http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/queens-midtown/ right, the QMT project during its gestation was in the hands of the NYC Tunnel Authority.

ixnay

I saw a different name given somewhere else, but it boiled down to the same thing–a different agency Moses didn’t head (and that he therefore disliked).
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"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

PastTense

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crispy93

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Re: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
« Reply #30 on: June 15, 2021, 04:11:21 PM »

Maybe the locals will be more game if the vertical clearance on the cantilever can be fixed to accommodate trucks. When NYSDOT milled down the pavement on the Grand Central/278 in Astoria, the locals were delighted that a parade of trucks were no longer on surface streets.
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The Ghostbuster

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Re: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
« Reply #31 on: June 16, 2021, 06:21:01 PM »

Personally, I would support the tunnel bypass option, despite the great expense it would require. I would make the tunnel large enough for trucks, and implement congestion pricing to keep traffic flowing.
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PastTense

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Re: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
« Reply #32 on: June 16, 2021, 06:35:39 PM »

The BQE is part of the interstate highway system and allows trucks. In fact a major factor in the deterioration of the cantilever section of the BQE is large numbers of illegally overweight trucks.

https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2021/06/10/bill-to-id-penalize-overweight-trucks-on-bqe-passes-legislature/
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mrsman

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Re: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
« Reply #33 on: June 30, 2021, 12:32:30 AM »

The BQE is part of the interstate highway system and allows trucks. In fact a major factor in the deterioration of the cantilever section of the BQE is large numbers of illegally overweight trucks.

https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2021/06/10/bill-to-id-penalize-overweight-trucks-on-bqe-passes-legislature/

Here is a link to the NYC truck map:

https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2015-06-08-truck-map-combined.pdf

If one looks at this very carefully, you can see how difficult it is to legally drive a large truck within NYC.  Certainly, they are prohibited from using the parkways.  And only a handful of streets are allowed to carry thru trucks in their stead.

And if you are driving a "53 foot trailer" (I imagine this means tractor/trailer) there is only one legal way to drive from NJ to CT, LI, or JFK airport.  I belive these vehicles are totally illegal on every other highway/street in the city, but perhaps to meet constitutional muster (local laws not unduly burdening interstate commerce), they provide a very specific truck routing for these routes that, practically speaking, must drive through parts of NYC to avoid gigantic detours.

NJ to Conn:  Must stay on I-95 via GWB and Cross-Bronx
NJ to JFK airport: Must use I-95 on GWB and Cross-Bronx and then take the I-678 along the Whitestone Bridge and Van Wyck.  This is far longer than utilizing I-278, especially if strarting in central or southern NJ (and by extension most of the rest of the US)
NJ to Eastern LI:  Must use I-95 on GWB and Cross-Bronx and then take the I-678 along the Whitestone Bridge and Van Wyck to I-495 east.  This is far longer than utilizing I-278 to I-495, especially if strarting in central or southern NJ (and by extension most of the rest of the US)

So while the BQE does allow for trucks generally, the largest trucks are supposed to avoid it and take I-95 instead.
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vdeane

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Re: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
« Reply #34 on: June 30, 2021, 01:15:05 PM »

NJ to Eastern LI:  Must use I-95 on GWB and Cross-Bronx and then take the I-678 along the Whitestone Bridge and Van Wyck to I-495 east.  This is far longer than utilizing I-278 to I-495, especially if strarting in central or southern NJ (and by extension most of the rest of the US)
I think you mean I-295/Throgs Neck Bridge.  I-678 has no direct access to I-495 east or from I-495 west.
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Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

 


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