By Adam Kramer
Motorists who take the Long Island Expressway should get a slight respite in their fight against the abominable traffic conditions caused by the major construction projects clogging the highway and stymieing their commute to work.
The state Department of Transportation has finished the second phase of its reconstruction project on the eastbound LIE between Woodhaven Boulevard — Exit 19 — and the Grand Central Parkway. The DOT shifted the traffic flow pattern Tuesday.
“I expect the shift will make the commute better,” said Heather Sporn, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation. “Drivers will now be able to get from the mainline to the Grand Central Parkway.”
Construction on the roadway scheduled for completion in 2003 has the LIE looking more like a parking lot than an expressway. The construction, added to the normal traffic patterns on the roadway, has left traffic inching along from the divide at Exit 19 to the Grand Central Parkway.
The project is to be completed in four sections, with construction crews working on two lanes of the highway at a time. To keep the traffic moving, the DOT has rerouted traffic onto Horace Harding Expressway, which runs parallel to the LIE.
The eastbound highway will still divide at Woodhaven Boulevard with two lanes to the left and two lanes to the right, said the DOT.
The two left lanes will rejoin the two right lanes just after the Long Island Rail Road overpass near Queens Boulevard. Once the LIE comes together, commuters will be driving on the new recently finished roadway, the agency said.
“As this project continues to progress, the public can see the new LIE in Queens as it takes shape,” said Douglas Currey, NYSDOT regional director. “With each new stage, motorists will realize an improved roadway with new lighting, drainage system and driving surface — all combining to improve overall operation in this travel corridor.”
The DOT said the rehabilitation of the highway originally built in the 1940s includes the installation of new lights, a new road surface, a new drainage system, the removal of the bumps in the road and the installation of the Intelligent Transportation System to help traffic flow.
The highway has reached the end of its useful life, said a DOT official. He said there are problems with the riding surface and the reconstruction will raise the safety standards.
Pointing out that the highway is safe based on the criteria used at the time it was built, he said “what we are doing is upgrading it to today’s standards. You can always improve standards.”
Modern Continental, a Boston-based contractor, started construction on the roadway in the spring of 2000 with a scheduled completion date in late 2003. The project is one of the most expensive roadwork projects in state history at a cost of $200 million and is being done concurrently with the state’s most expensive road project ever, the $228 million construction on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
If the project finishes early, there is a bonus of $15,000 per day, but if construction takes longer than the completion date, there is a fine of $15,000 per day, the DOT said.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
