New York Construction Report staff writer
The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has been awarded a $150 million federal grant to help transform an initial section of the Cross Bronx Expressway with the addition of a multimodal community connector roadway with dedicated bus lanes and pathways for bicyclists and pedestrians.
With the project currently in the preliminary engineering phase, NYSDOT officials say they will meet with environmental leaders, Bronx community boards, and the public in the spring and summer of 2024.
The grant is through the National Infrastructure Assistance Program (MEGA)/Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program.
“The Cross Bronx Expressway is a roadway with unlimited potential for transformation, and the allocation of these federal funds will lay a solid foundation to create the infrastructure needed to continue to reconnect this community, just as we are doing at Hunts Point,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “While this is a first step in a long process, it is an important one that will advance our goal of reconnecting communities by reimagining critical infrastructure to benefit the people to live there, while helping to ease the negative impacts of vehicle traffic and pollution.”
The multi-modal community connector roadway will serve as another step towards addressing concerns that have been voiced by community members for years about the need to provide greater east/west connectivity for pedestrians, bicyclists and traffic; and improve mass transit accessibility.
It will feature dedicated bus lanes and pathways for bicyclists and pedestrians that will improve transportation connections for residents of the neighborhoods on both sides of the Bronx River. Furthermore, it will provide a direct connection to Starlight Park, a multi-faceted recreational amenity, and the Bronx River Greenway.
Also, the state-of-good repair work performed on the five bridges is foundational to achieving the overall goals of a study now being progressed by the state and the city to reimagine the Cross Bronx Expressway corridor.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) provided a $2 million grant as part of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program for the state and the city to partner on a community-driven study that will reimagine the future transportation and community network in the Bronx, the results of which are expected to be completed at the end of 2024.
