Throgs Nicked

Cracks on the 2,910-foot span of the Throgs Neck Bridge compelled the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) this week to restrict access to trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds for 18 hours a day.
After the announcement, elected officials feared that the ban may send those vehicles rumbling through Queens’ local streets.
Bridge volumes are increasingly crowded – averaging 125,000 vehicles per day and peaking between 7 and 8 a.m. and 5 and 6 p.m. Over 12,000 trucks per day use the bridge.
On Monday, Borough President Helen Marshall ordered a meeting to examine the potential public safety impact of the court and traffic battles, which could affect an estimated 300,000 residents of northeast Queens.
State Senator Toby Stavisky told The Queens Courier that as a result of the proposed ban, “trucks will have to exit the expressways and use the local streets.”
One example given was Third Avenue in Whitestone, which is the last exit before the Whitestone Bridge.
The move prompted trucking and construction industries to ask the Manhattan Supreme Court to waive the ruling. A hearing was scheduled on the matter for October 18.
MTA spokesperson Catherine Sweeney said the bridge’s 80,000-pound limit had been on the books since it opened in 1961, although trucks weighing up to 120,000 pounds have been allowed to cross the span.
When significant stress cracks appeared on the bridge earlier this year, along with increased truck volumes, the MTA issued a six-month warning. Then, last week, truckers were informed that, starting on Monday, trucks up to 89,000 pounds could only be accommodated between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. on the bridge’s center lanes. Carriers were given six months to revise their shipping schedules.
s District Manager Marilyn Bitterman said the ruling could have a negative effect on her area’s residents.
This places an increased traffic burden on the Whitestone Bridge, which is also currently under reconstruction,” Bitterman said.