Transit Brooklyn Heights

BQE triple cantilever weekend closures starting mid-October

Traffic to be rerouted through Brooklyn streets

September 19, 2023 Mary Frost
The BQE. Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle
Share this:

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Drivers should prepare now for full closures of a section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, set to begin mid-October, the NYC Department of Transportation said Monday.

NYC DOT expects the first of three projected closures of the BQE’s Triple Cantilever to take place from Saturday, Oct. 14 at 2 a.m. through Monday, Oct. 16 at 4 a.m.  

The work will entail closing the highway between the Atlantic Avenue entrance ramp and the Manhattan Bridge exit ramp in the Queens-bound direction.  There will also be partial lane closures at the same time in the Staten Island-bound direction.  

Subscribe to our newsletters

Travelers are strongly encouraged to avoid the BQE during this work.

The closures focus on installing new concrete and reinforcing steel bars at spans near Clark Street and Grace Court, as part of interim repairs on this decrepit section of the BQE. 

“We are making critical repairs to the BQE  to preserve its lifespan while at the same time trying to minimize impact on the local community,” NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a release. “We will keep the public closely updated on our progress as we plan ahead for this work.”

Traffic mitigations planned

Traffic from the BQE, which carries more than 150,000 vehicles a day, will be rerouted along Brooklyn streets including Atlantic, Third, Fourth and Flatbush avenues. Full detour maps can be found here.

“Tons of modeling efforts” came up with the most tolerable traffic mitigations, Tanvi Pandya, executive director of BQE, Design Build & Emergency Contracts at NYC DOT, said at a virtual meeting in July. 

DOT will be working with New Jersey Transit, MTA, the Port Authority and Google Maps to divert traffic from the BQE during the three closure weekends, Pandya said. Traffic agents will be stationed around the assigned routes, at the Prospect Expressway and in lower Manhattan. Emergency services will be stationed in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

“In Brooklyn Heights, we will look into where we need TAs so traffic is not diverting off the assigned routes and onto local streets,” she said.

This map shows the Queens-bound Atlantic Avenue detour for the upcoming weekend closure of the BQE’s Triple Cantilever. Map: NYCDOT

Details of BQE Closures and Detours from Oct. 14 to Oct. 16

The Queens-bound BQE will be fully closed from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street from Saturday, Oct.r 14 at 2 a.m. to Monday, Oct. 16 at 4 a.m.

During the same timeframe, the Staten Island-bound BQE will be reduced to one lane of traffic between Sands Street and Atlantic Avenue.

Additional Travel Restrictions

  • Atlantic Avenue eastbound left turn onto Hicks Street banned (except for buses)
  • Atlantic Avenue eastbound left turn onto Clinton Street banned (except for buses)
  • Bus Stops B67 and B69 at Pearl and Sands streets will be closed
  • Bus Stops B61 and B63 at Columbia Street and Atlantic Avenue will be redirected to Atlantic Avenue and Henry Street and rerouted via Congress and Hicks streets to Atlantic Avenue

 Ramp closures associated with work Oct. 14 to 16

Queens-Bound

  • 3rd Ave Entrance Ramp
  • 6th Ave Entrance Ramp
  • Prospect Expressway Entrance Ramp
  • Hamilton Avenue Entrance Ramp
  • Atlantic Avenue Entrance Ramp
  • Cadman Plaza Exit Ramp
  • Brooklyn Bridge Exit Ramp
  • Manhattan Bridge Exit Ramp

 

Staten Island-Bound

  • Flushing Avenue Entrance Ramp
  • Sands Street Entrance Ramp
  • Vine Street Entrance Ramp

 

Queens-Bound Atlantic Avenue Detour

  • All Queens-bound vehicles must exit at Atlantic Avenue
  • Left onto Boerum Place
  • Right onto Tillary Street and take ramp onto BQE

Leave a Comment

Related Articles

Leave a Comment