I-278 Kosciuszko Bridge

[Dougtone]

There was a recent article in the New York Times regarding artist renderings for a possible replacement for Interstate 278's Kosciuszko Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Queens.  The current model has seen much better days.
http://nyti.ms/acAHQb

[D-Dey65]

There was a recent article in the New York Times regarding artist renderings for a possible replacement for Interstate 278's Kosciuszko Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Queens.  The current model has seen much better days.
http://nyti.ms/acAHQb

I like #2, but I hate how many idiotic NIMBYists are going on the New York Times site to condenm building anything that makes driving in the city easier.

Wow. My #100th post.   

[Nexis4Jersey]

That's too bad, I like that bridge. I hope they will at least keep the unique name. The Cable-Stayed bridge will anger a lot of Nimby's because it would block the view of the Manhattan Skyline.  The Arch bridge is ok, but would work better with a slightly longer span.  I like the Deck Arch & Box Girders designs, they're simple and don't block the views and they fit in. I have a question though, does this mean they are planning to place I-278 underground in tunnels and add more capacity? This highway is bottlenecked 24/7 and is way over capacity; this is one place more transit wouldn't help, because its already the best of the best.

[Nexis4Jersey]

There was a recent article in the New York Times regarding artist renderings for a possible replacement for Interstate 278's Kosciuszko Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Queens.  The current model has seen much better days.
http://nyti.ms/acAHQb

I like #2, but I hate how many idiotic NIMBYists are going on the New York Times site to condenm building anything that makes driving in the city easier.

I read all those comments; there are legitimate concerns. Right now there more important things to be spending the money on, and I hate to say this, but New Yorkers don't really want more roads even though this road is maxed out. Unless its built with private money then ,I bet 80% of New Yorkers will railroad this project into the ground.

(moderator's note: this isn't a new road, rather a new bridge)

[D-Dey65]

I read all those comments there are legitment concerns , right now there more important things to be spending the money on, and i hate to say this , but New Yorkers don't really want more roads even though this road is maxed out.

This kind of mentality is why traffic is a total disaster in the Tri-State Area.

[froggie]

You cannot mean ignore your road infrastructure.  This project replaces a deficient bridge.  It's not like you're adding a new freeway here...

[D-Dey65]

Bloomberg's a lot more than just not road friendly. He tried to establish "congestion pricing" in the city, which is a lot worse than Ed Koch's former opposition to Westway. As for the attacks on the replacement for the Kosciuszko Bridge, it's as if they expect everybody to get out of their cars and trucks and take a train across Newtown Creek.

And yes, it is a mentality. The myth that "you can't build your way out of congestion" is nothing more than an attack on road improvements. When you build for mass transit, you're still trying to build your way out of congestion. The LIRR is facing the same NIMBYism over the third track on the main line to Hicksville that Robert Moses used to face. I actually think they should build it, and I'd feel the same way if lived near the right-of-way, so it's not like I'm against mass transit.

[papaT10932]

I hope they do not use a cable-stayed bridge. I think they are so ugly and are very "cookie-cutter." They all look alike and rarely have any distinguishing features from one another.

I'll put it this way: Imagine if the George Washington, the Triborough, the Brooklyn, the Manhattan, the Williamsburg, the Queensboro, the Whitestone, the Throgs Neck, and the Verrazano were ALL cable-stayed bridges. Just imagine of the horror!!

[Nexis4Jersey]

The Bayonne, Outerbridge, and Goethals bridges might get replaced with Cable-Stayed bridges this decade to accomendate new light rail lines and more lanes of Traffic.  But the designs for those bridges are all unique; the designs for this bridge look stale and bland.

[florida]

The through-arch looks the classiest of all; it is reminiscent to the art-deco era. The cable-stayed type is good for wide open areas (Sunshine Skyway in Tampa Bay and the Dames Point Bridge in Jacksonville, for examples) instead of clogging up a skyline.

[D-Dey65]

I like the cable-stayed bridges as replacements for the Outerbridge Crossing and Goethals Bridge, but no so much for the Kosciuszko. I'm undecided on the Bayonne Bridge, but I still don't think light rail should exist in the city, even on Staten Island. If you want to expand the rail system there, you could just revive the North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway, although I still think the North Shore Staten Island Expressway should've been built as well.

[Chris]

The through-arch looks the classiest of all; it is reminiscent to the art-deco era. The cable-stayed type is good for wide open areas (Sunshine Skyway in Tampa Bay and the Dames Point Bridge in Jacksonville, for examples) instead of clogging up a skyline.

I agree. Same for large suspension bridges. The Verrazano Narrows Bridge works great on it's current location, but would be too large for replacing the Kosciuszko Bridge. I think a new arch bridge would be best. The bridge was named after a Polish general Kościuszko.

[vdeane]

I like the arch as well.  I don't like all the anti-car nazis commenting on the article.  They have no perspective on anything; for example, one said that since 54% of people in NYC don't own a car, the bridge is catering to a minority and should not be built.  Last time I checked, 46% was a sizeable percentage.  And they completely ignore truck traffic, and anything else that doesn't support destroying the roads in favor of mass transit.

[Chris]

for example, one said that since 54% of people in NYC don't own a car, the bridge is catering to a minority and should not be built.

I'd rather express this figure in the amount of households that do not own a car. Now you'll include kids, teenagers and the elderly which gives a blurred image of the reality. That 54% figure is significantly influenced by the low ownership in Manhattan, but this bridge is in Brooklyn/Queens, where car ownership is already higher, not to mention traffic from outside the New York City proper. NYC represents about 28% of the metropolitan area.

Also; reflect the opinion of that person on other cities where transit users are a tiny minority. According to his statement, this means we should never invest in rail outside of Manhattan?

[Dougtone]

I like the arch as well.  I don't like all the anti-car nazis commenting on the article.  They have no perspective on anything; for example, one said that since 54% of people in NYC don't own a car, the bridge is catering to a minority and should not be built.  Last time I checked, 46% was a sizeable percentage.  And they completely ignore truck traffic, and anything else that doesn't support destroying the roads in favor of mass transit.

I'd counteract the people who would be against the bridge by bringing up truck traffic, since even people who use mass transit do purchase goods that would be easier to get across the Kosciuszko Bridge by way of truck.

[mightyace]

The cable-stayed design is the one that I find esthetically pleasing followed by the simplicity of the box girder.  I find the arch designs just plain ugly.  But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Chris]

The truck congestion is mainly because of the Parkways. Trucks are not allowed there, which severely limits the number of truck routes in the city and Long Island. Everything people buy is shipped with trucks... and there happen to be a lot of people in and around New York City.

[Mergingtraffic]

this seems to be getting started rather quickly in 2014...if it were CT it would be 2054.

[vdeane]

New York is perfectly capable of building infrastructure when NYSDOT puts its mind to it.  The problem is that they almost never have the money to do so.

[Snappyjack]

New York is perfectly capable of building infrastructure when NYSDOT puts its mind to it.  The problem is that they almost never have the money to do so.

They also don't have the motivation. Even a project that would only take 5 years to complete somewhere else, takes 10 here.

[vdeane]

Part of that is NY politics and stuff like that.  You wouldn't believe how many studies need to get done to do anything here.