By Matthew Goldberg
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
And Richard Richtmeyer
Associated Press

WESTERN BROOKLYN — As Brooklyn residents wait for a final plan that would replace the decrepit Gowanus Expressway — whether it be a tunnel, the most-discussed alternative, or another elevated expressway above First Avenue — the state legislature in Albany is considering funding to fix the current structure.

Anyone who drives on the expressway between the Verrazano and Brooklyn bridges (which turns into the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway around Cobble Hill) knows the stop-and-go traffic, the potholes, the constant construction and rehabilitation work that closes off lanes. Although the below-ground stretch in Cobble Hill is known for accidents, the elevated structure in Bay Ridge and Sunset Park is a particular source of complaints.

The $267 million designated to repair the Gowanus is part of the state Department of Transportation’s (DOTs) plan to spend $25.7 billion on roads, bridges, railroads and other infrastructure over the next five years. That’s about 38 percent higher than the current $18 billion five-year plan, which runs through 2009.

The 2009-2014 plan proposed by the state Transportation Department this week relies on about $4.9 billion in funds it says are “yet to be identified from state, federal or other sources.�

The major portion of the Gowanus Expressway funding would go toward the Repair and Interim Deck Replacement Project. This re-decking is being done on the expressway while the longer-term Gowanus Project, which will bring more substantial improvements to the Brooklyn roadway, is being developed.

There are currently five contracts out on the Gowanus Expressway for the replacement project, one of which has just been completed and another that begins Thursday.

Minimal interim lane closures will be necessary for the repairs — “but not too much,� as Adam Levine, from the public affairs office of the DOT, said in a phone interview with the Eagle.

One lane may be closed at times midday when traffic is a little lighter.

“The lanes are narrow to being with, and are a little tighter,� having been laid out “before current standards� were set into place, said Levine. This necessitates special care with repairs, with there being less leeway.

The Gowanus was first constructed in 1940 above Third Avenue and was then widened into a six-lane expressway in the 1960s. Still, it “has not undergone a significant rehabilitation since then,� says the DOT’s Web site, which is why such care must be taken into account.

Overall, “all traffic should be maintained, and the work done,� Levine assured the motorists of Brooklyn.

The Gowanus Project itself aims to implement the ‘environmental impact statement’ as prepared by the NYS DOT in 2006 “to determine the best way to improve the expressway,� according to the Web site nycroads.com

The state DOT’s spending plan includes money for roads, bridges, railroads, airports and seaports. Other projects included in the state agency’s wish list are $793 million to convert part of Route 17 (which every Brooklynite who used to go to the Catskills for the summer knows) into Interstate 86; $90 million to cover New York’s share of expanding the Peace Bridge connecting Buffalo with Canada; and much more.

Brodsky Is Skeptical About Plan

Some lawmakers, who received copies of the Transportation Department’s 55-page plan on Sunday, were skeptical of some of its projections.

Richard Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat who chairs the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, said the proposed plan’s funding gap is likely much wider than estimated. “It’s actually closer to $10 billion,� Brodsky said.

Senate Transportation Committee Chair Thomas Libous agreed that the Transportation Department underestimated the shortfall, partly because it relies on an insurance fee proposed by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer that was “dead on arrival� in the Legislature.

Spitzer proposed raising the state surcharge on auto insurance policies to $20 from $5 to help pay for bridge and highway safety initiatives. The additional money was expected to raise about $1.5 billion over five years, but both the Assembly and Senate removed the higher fee from their versions of the state budget.

The proposed capital plan also relies on an increase in federal funds, which both Brodsky and Libous said is unrealistic.

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008
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