Bridge that spanned decades is in limbo

The Kosciuszko Bridge, which connects Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Maspeth, Queens predates the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that runs across it.
“It was built at a time when Newtown Creek was an active shipping lane,” explained New York State Department of Transportation spokesman Adam Levine.
Levine said the truss bridge, erected in 1939 before certain construction standards were enacted, was built to allow large ships to pass beneath it. Steep slopes and narrow lanes carry 21st century traffic across the nearly 70-year-old bridge, but that is all about to change.
The NYSDOT initially expected to receive federal authorization for a $700 million replacement of the Kosciuszko Bridge by the end of 2007. That was, until the New York Historic Preservation Office spoke up last November, urging rehabilitation instead of a demolition of the bridge.
NYSDOT officials issued a report substantiating the need for a full bridge replacement, citing traffic congestion, traffic safety and structural conditions as reasons to create a duel or even a triple span to carry the BQE, or I-278, one of the city’s few north-south interstate highways. The thoroughfare also serves commuter and local traffic in addition to commercial vehicles that are prohibited from parkways in the area.
While the Historic Preservation Office recently acknowledged in a written response that there are “no prudent and feasible alternatives to the demolition,” two rehabilitation alternatives are still under consideration by NYSDOT, in addition to three replacement options. Levine said the organization is awaiting the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to be released in May. Upon receipt of the EIS, the Federal Highway Administration will approve one of the five plans, at which point the final design will be mapped out, and, if all goes according to plan, construction will begin in 2011.
“There will always be a way to cross Newtown Creek,” said Levine, explaining that construction would occur in parts, shifting traffic onto new structures and allowing it to continue to flow.
“It is sound and it is safe but it does require a lot of attention in terms of temporary repairs,” Levine said of the bridge.
Christine Holowacz, a co-chairwoman of the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning (GWAPP) works to inform the public of what is happening with the open space in their community.
Holowacz mentioned people have voiced concerns over eminent domain, but for the most part “everyone really wants a new bridge.”
“I think we need a new bridge because this bridge doesn’t do what it’s supposed to. It’s very narrow – when there’s an accident, traffic stops everywhere,” she explained, noting that she hopes a new or rehabilitated bridge would alleviate traffic and, in turn, decrease pollution in her area.
Holowacz, who is also a member of the Stakeholders Committee for the bridge construction, cited ecological concerns about the potential release of fumes from a half-century-old oil spill along the community’s waterfront. But she, the area residents and the NYSDOT will have to wait for that and other environmental issues to be addressed in the May EIS report.
While Holowacz waits for a major change to the waterfront landscape, she doesn’t appear the least bit nostalgic. In fact, she is taking the road much less traveled.
“To be honest, I really wanted a tunnel, not a bridge,” she said, laughing.