Noisy nighttime BQE jackhammering to begin July 24

Brooklyn Heights residents brace for racket during interim work

July 18, 2023 Mary Frost

The BQE. Eagle file photo by Don Evans

Share this:

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Folks living near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade are in for some potentially sleep-disrupting racket starting July 24. That’s the date when nighttime jackhammering on the Triple Cantilever portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is expected to begin, according to NYC Department of Transportation’s Community Liaison, Anita Navalurkar.

Contractor Bove Industries will be using “noise reducing tent enclosures” comprised of sound blankets and smaller equipment to the extent possible, NYCDOT said in an online statement.

These noisy-but-necessary interim repairs are designed to shore up the 70-year-old Triple Cantilever underpinning the Promenade until the city and state settle on a full redesign — a massive, yearslong project.

The upcoming BQE interim work includes concrete and rebar repairs in the Clark Street Fan Plant area (Span 34); the BQE deck at Grace Court (Span 4); and the foundation of the Joralemon Street Garage. Diagram courtesy of NYCDOT

This will mean closing most of the busy highway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street during three weekends and at night for seven to eight weeks from July to October.

The work includes concrete and rebar repairs of the deck, column and beam in the Clark Street Fan Plant area (Span 34); the BQE deck at Grace Court (Span 4); and the foundation of the Joralemon Street Garage, Tanvi Pandya, executive director of BQE, Design Build & Emergency Contracts at NYCDOT, said at a virtual meeting held on June 29.

The noisy overnight work on the BQE will include concrete and rebar repairs of the deck, column and beam in the Clark Street Fan Plant area, shown above. Eagle photo by Mary Frost

Pandya said NYCDOT will set up decibel meters and check the readings every night to ensure the work adheres to NYC’s Noise Code. Jackhammers will be equipped with noise-reducing mufflers, and sound-absorbing blankets can be used in places. But requiring the contractor to use smaller, less noisy jackhammers could stretch out the work.

“It’s a balancing act,” she said. “We’ll do our darndest.”

“Will it be too noisy to sleep?” an attendee at the meeting asked.

“That’s subjective,” Pandya replied.

Single-lane, weeknight closures from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. on the Queens-bound BQE will begin on July 20 and will continue for about eight weeks. Diagram courtesy of NYCDOT

The following work will take place prior to the jackhammering:

Single-lane, weeknight closures from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. on the Queens-bound BQE will begin on July 20 and will continue for about eight weeks.
Work on Columbia Street ramps is anticipated to be completed by July 28. (NYCDOT says it is working with the contractor to condense the schedule and open the sidewalk and ramps earlier.)

Residents and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to discuss this work at another virtual meeting to be held on Thursday, July 20, at 4 p.m. You can register here.

The full June presentation (in both PDF and YouTube formats) explaining the details of this work is available on the NYCDOT website.

To get on the Community Liaison’s notification list, contact Anita Navalurkar, at (347) 647-0876 or [email protected].