Replace Mile-Long, Elmhurst-Rego Park Line
Water now flows through a new mile-long main between Elmhurst and Rego Park installed during a $15 million project officially announced as completed last Thursday, Feb. 6.
The city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Department of Design and Construction (DDC) teamed up on the project to replace small cast iron water pipes below Queens Boulevard between Simonson Street and 63rd Road.
Crews swapped the cast iron lines-which measured between eight and 12 inches in diameter and were installed between 1930 and 1948-for modern ductile iron measuring 20 inches in diameter. According to the DEP, the larger pipes better serve growing neighborhoods lined with larger homes, apartment complexws and business centers.
The water main replacement project began in 2012 and included similar upgrades made throughout Fresh Meadows.
“By investing in our infrastructure, we are ensuring the public has access to a reliable supply of healthy drinking water, that our firefighters have the water pressure they need to fight fires and that there is adequate supply to allow for the continued growth of neighborhood throughout the five boroughs,” DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland said. “The hundreds of millions of dollars we invest each year to retire aging water mains and replace them with new, stronger pipes is one of the reasons DEP is consistently one of the most dependable utilities in the nation.”
Local lawmakers heralded the project as a major improvement for their constituents in all three neighborhoods.
“This is a significant and needed modernization of aging infrastructure that represents an important investment in the public health and safety of our community,” said State Sen. Jose Peralta.
“Rego Park, Fresh Meadows and Elmhurst are wonderful places to live, and now they will have a higher quality of life thanks to this investment,” added State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky.
Assemblyman Francisco Moya said “investing in water main improvement is a win-win,” while City Council Member Karen Koslowitz expressed hope that “this is just the beginning and the infrastructure throughout the borough of Queens is enhanced.
“I’m glad these 80-year-old pipes are being replaced now before they break and flood the streets,” said City Council Member Daniel Dromm.
Over the last decade, it was noted, DEP spent more than $1.7 billion to replace water mains across the city.
Similar amounts have been budgeted for additional upgrades scheduled over the next decade.
For additional information, visit www.nyc.gov/dep or call 311.
