Noisy, overnight BQE jackhammering work delayed (again)

DOT says new start date is July 31

July 21, 2023 Mary Frost

The BQE. Eagle photo by Mary Frost

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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Noisy, overnight jackhammering work on the Triple Cantilever portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that was scheduled to begin on July 24 has been delayed, Tanvi Pandya, executive director of BQE, Design Build & Emergency Contracts at NYCDOT, said at a virtual meeting held Thursday.

The new target start date for the potentially sleep-disrupting racket is July 31, Pandya said. Contractor Bove Industries had to fabricate one item, which led to the delay, Pandya said.

The start of what NYCDOT has labeled “BQE interim repairs” was already delayed because it took longer than expected to get the contractor, Pandya said at a meeting in June.

Noisy-but-necessary BQE interim repairs are designed to shore up the 70-year-old Triple Cantilever until the city and state settle on a full redesign. Eagle photo by Mary Frost

Folks living near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade will be the most affected by the noisy work, which will take place weeknights from 1-5 a.m. and weekends from 2-7 a.m. Bove will be using a sound tent to cut back on the noise, Pandya said. A sound tent is like a sound blanket but also has a roof, she said. “They will work inside of it.”

The Department of Environmental Protection informed Bove that noise from the construction must remain at 85 decibels or less, as measured from a spot 50 feet away from the source of the noise. “The contractor asked for 90, but DEP said no,” she said. Bove will make adjustments based on the sound readings, which NYCDOT will monitor.

The start of noisy, overnight jackhammering work on the Triple Cantilever portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway has been delayed until July 31. Eagle photo by Mary Frost

Bove will also try to cut back on the noise level by using a battery pack rather than a diesel generator. “They take it seriously,” she said. The drilling taking place near Clark Street will be somewhat quieter than the work near Grace Court due to the muffling action of the Promenade overhang, Pandya said.

The overnight jackhammering will remove deteriorated asphalt and concrete, in order to prepare the roadbed for the installation of reinforcing steel bars and new concrete, which will take place over three weekends. Because of the delays, the weekend closures, which were planned to take place during the slower summer months, could extend into the fall, or possibly next spring.

The Queens-bound lanes of the busy highway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street will be completely closed during these three weekends. On the first weekend closure, all lanes will be closed on the Queens-bound side and only one lane will be open on the Staten Island-bound side. On the second and third weekends, all lanes will be closed on the Queens-bound side, while both lanes will remain open on the Staten Island-bound side.

“Major traffic diversions” will be in place during the weekend closures, Pandya said.

The scope of the BQE interim work includes concrete and rebar repairs of the deck, column and beams in the Clark Street Fan Plant area, shown above. Eagle photo by Mary Frost

Will shore up the BQE until a long-term plan is devised

The scope of the BQE interim work includes concrete and rebar repairs of the deck, column and beams in the Clark Street Fan Plant area (Span 34) and on the BQE deck at Grace Court (Span 4). Work in a third area, on the foundation of the Joralemon Street Garage, will not cause excessive noise since it is being done inside the BQE structure.

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

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