By Nathan Duke
The upgrading of the Kosciuszko Bridge, which connects Maspeth to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was put on hold earlier this year after the state's Historic Preservation Office expressed concern that the 69-year-old bridge's Warren truss-type structure could have historic value and decided not to approve final designs for the project.But the Historic Preservation Office abandoned its attempt to preserve the bridge, making it possible for the state Transportation Department to complete its environmental impact statement for the Kosciuszko rehab by May, a state DOT spokesman said.”We presented a lot of documentation that showed there were several safety concerns with the existing bridge and how it was outmoded,” DOT spokesman Adam Levine said.The state originally expected to complete plans to upgrade the bridge, built in 1939, by the end of last year. Levine said that there is currently no completion date for the project, but that it was expected to begin in 2011.”The process was slowed down a few months, but everybody's on the same page now,” he said.In a letter to the state DOT, the Historic Preservation Office wrote that it would no longer attempt to save the current bridge structure.”We concur that there are no prudent and feasible alternatives to the demolition of this historic bridge,” wrote historic site restoration coordinator Beth Cumming.”Six plans exist for the bridge's upgrade, including two options to rehabilitate the existing structure and construct a parallel bridge on its eastbound or westbound site, three options to replace the existing structure by building parallel bridges on both sides and a no-build alternative with continuing maintenance. The state DOT has pushed options that would replace the existing bridge.The upgrade is expected to cost between $515 million to $710 million, depending on which plan is chosen, Levine said. But there will still need to be a public comment period and a Record of Decision issued before the project can move forward.George Kosser, vice president of Maspeth access door manufacturer Karp Associates, said his business would need to purchase new equipment and be fully operational in another location before closing down its current site at 43rd Street. He said he was glad that the bridge rehabilitation project was once again moving forward.”For us, it's a good news-bad news situation,” he said. “The good news is they are not holding the project anymore. The bad news is [the state] is still going to take us. We'd just rather know sooner than later.”With 100 employees, Karp would be the largest business affected by the project.Astoria's Hell Gate Bridge is another western Queens structure where rehabilitation has been stalled and is now ready to resume, City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) said.Amtrak will begin renovating the bridge on April 1 and complete work in one year, he said. Residents have long complained that the bridge poses dangers to pedestrians by leaking water and shedding debris.”For too long this trestle, a landmark in our community, has been a sorry eyesore,” Vallone said. “This bridge should be a neighborhood gem, not a crumbling piece of stone.”Amtrak put up scaffolding to fix the bridge nearly a year ago, but little renovation has since taken place, Vallone said. For years, rocks and pieces of plaster have fallen from the structure and damaged parked cars, he said. Water has also leaked from the bridge and frozen during the winter, causing one of Vallone's employees to slip and break her wrist, the councilman said.Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
