New York, NY — New York City will be increasing truck enforcement and performing urgent, structural repairs on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The Mayor signed an Executive Order to create the new NYPD BQE Truck Enforcement Task Force. This new unit will increase enforcement against illegal, overweight trucks that are exacerbating the BQE’s structural issues.
“The BQE is one of the main arteries of our City, which is why we are immediately increasing enforcement against overweight trucks and addressing the highway’s most pressing structural issues,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I applaud the expert panel for putting forward several solutions to preserve the BQE, and we will continue to explore the next steps necessary to keep New Yorkers safe and moving.”
In 2019, the Mayor convened a panel of experts to evaluate the best options to preserve the structural integrity of the BQE from the Atlantic Avenue interchange to Sands Street in Brooklyn. The panel outlined a series of recommendations, including increased enforcement against illegal overweight trucks, as well as making urgent repairs to Hicks Street Wall and the most deteriorated portions of the cantilever. The panel also recommended against building a temporary highway through the Brooklyn Heights Promenade or Brooklyn Bridge Park.
“The BQE is a vital stretch of roadway in New York City and I thank the expert panel for their work helping identify solutions to the structural issues it faces,” said Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin. “As we work on immediate repairs to key sections of the roadway, we will be partnering with law enforcement to crack down on illegal overweight trucks through Executive Order 51.”
The City will also repair the Hicks Street Wall and sections of the cantilever. Construction on the Hicks Street Wall will start in the spring, and be completed by the end of 2020. DOT will begin the design process on the most deteriorated portions of the cantilever starting this summer, and work will be completed by the end of 2022.
“The triple cantilever section of the BQE is in urgent need of repairs and steps must be taken right away to reduce traffic and fix this section of the roadway,” said Carlo Scissura, Chair of BQE expert panel and President and CEO of the New York Building Congress. “I commend Mayor Bill de Blasio for his leadership, not only informing the expert panel to study the issue but in taking immediate action to address the most severe structural issues and increase enforcement against illegal, overweight trucks that are overburdening the highway.”
