The Bridge of Kosciuszko is a bridge over Newtown Creek in New York City, connecting Greenpoint in Brooklyn to Maspeth in Queens. The current bridge on site, the fixed-cable bridge, opened in April 2017 and carries three lanes in each direction. This is one of two planned fixed-cable bridges, with the opening of parallel bridges by 2020. The older bridge, the same-named truss bridge located north of the first cable-stayed bridge, originally opened in 1939. It was closed in April 2017 and destroyed from July to October 2017.
The intersection is part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway or BQE, which carries Interstate 278. Throughout its history, the Kosciusko Bridge has been the only bridge in Newtown Creek that is not a suspension bridge.
The older truss bridge replaces the swing bridge called the Meeker Avenue Bridge, which connects Meeker Avenue in Brooklyn to Laurel Hill Boulevard in Queens. The former Kosciuszko Bridge, also called the Meeker Avenue Bridge, carried six lanes of traffic, three in each direction. In 1940, a year after the opening, the bridge was renamed after Polish military leader Tadeusz Ko? Ciuszko, who fought alongside America in the American Revolutionary War.
In 2014, a contract is awarded and work begins to build one of the two replacement bridges with a larger capacity, with the first bridge that initially carries the two-way traffic. The new bridge has the same name as the original bridge, and both fixed-cable bridges will eventually bring in one-way traffic. The first bridge, located south of the old truss bridge, opened on 27 April 2017, with three lanes in each direction. After the old bridge was destroyed by a controlled explosion in October 2017, a new cable-stayed wing to the west with four lanes and a bicycle/pedestrian lane commenced construction on the site of the old bridge, and the first live-cable bridge would be east- with only five lanes when the western bridge opened in 2020.
Video Kosciuszko Bridge (New York City)
Original bridge
The first bridge on the site was built in 1803 through a Legislative Act that endorses the "Toll Bridge Construction at Newtown Creek: this bridge assigns a cent per passenger foot, which is why the bridge is called" Penny Bridge. "The original bridge was replaced several times, also called the Meeker Avenue Bridge, the structure used since 1894 is still informally known by some as the Penny Bridge. The bridge structure connects Meeker Avenue in Brooklyn to review Avenue and Laurel Hill Boulevard in Queens.
Until 1888, the bridge was operated by a private company and subsequently belonged to the people. In 1896, the bridge became the property of Brooklyn city and in 1898, after consolidation, it was taken over by the New York City Big Bridge Department.
The Kosciuszko Bridge, originally referred to as the Meeker Avenue Bridge , opened on August 23, 1939. Built at a cost of $ 6 million to $ 13 million (equivalent between $ 106 million and $ 229 million in current currency ).
1939 The design and shape of the Meeker Avenue Bridge is very different from the first Meeker Avenue Bridge. The former was a suspension bridge and carried a two-lane road, 20 feet wide (6.1 m) wide and two sidewalks. The new bridge carries two three-lane concrete roads each 32 feet (9.8 m) wide and separated by a 4-foot median (1.2 m). In addition, the new bridge structure contains 16,315 short tons (14,801 t) of steel, along with 88,120 cubic meters (67,370 m 3 ) of the concrete pairs.
One person who helped build the $ 1,500,000 Meeker Avenue Bridge is John Kelly, a former deep sea diver from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, who became famous for helping work on the new bridge. In 1938, he completed his task of building a cofferdam, box-shaped structure made of 250 steel plates. This allows workers to operate and build an underwater dock in a dry environment on the Brooklyn side of the new bridge; After that, Kelly starts cutting cofferdam on the Queens side, on Laurel Hill Boulevard and Review Avenue. One of the tools he uses is a water-operated cutter torch, which burns oxygen, hydrogen, and compressed air.
The city government officially changed the name of the bridge after Tadeusz Ko? Ciuszko, a Polish Volunteer who was a General in the American Revolutionary War, on 10 July 1940. On September 22, 1940, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia presided over a ceremony in which he officially renamed the new Meeker Avenue Bridge in Newtown Creek after Ko? ciuszko. The naming took place in the presence of 15,000 people, mainly Polish-Americans and representatives of municipal and state governments, some claiming that Poland's freedom of freedom would never die. There was a parade at both ends of the bridge, and La Guardia also launched a plaque commemorating the new name. In making applause, the mayor described President Franklin D. Roosevelt, like Ko? Iuszko, as "freedom fighter during a difficult period", referring to World War II where Poland was occupied by Germany. He also stated, "I'm sure Poland will come back to life Any land that grows lovers of freedom like that can never be enslaved Polish people may be captured, but the burning spirit of Polish freedom will never be destroyed." Two of the tower of the bridge was overcome with a hawk, one with a Polish eagle and the other an American eagle.
The repaving project in 1958 temporarily made the one-way bridge operation for five months. Only Queens-bound traffic is allowed during the afternoon and evening, while only traffic bound Brooklyn is allowed at all other times. In 1965, the Kosciuszko Bridge was expanded, and the ascent route on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Long Island Expressway was rebuilt into an incomplete partial clover crossing for $ 32.7 million. BQE was rebuilt from Cherry Street, at the end of the Brooklyn bridge, to Queens Boulevard in Queens. A small section of the LIE is reconstructed near the intersection with BQE, between Van Dam Street and Maurice Avenue. This requires that the route rotate temporarily around the bridge.
Maps Kosciuszko Bridge (New York City)
Substitution
The old 1939 bridge, intended only to serve 10,000 vehicles per day, eventually serves 18 times the amount of traffic when it becomes part of the Interstate Highway System. It's not up to Interstate standards because it does not have pipes or drainage shoulders. In the 1990s, the bridge was deteriorating and very crowded. After an 18-month study in 1994-5, State Department Transport officials concluded that to reduce congestion on a busy range, a new $ 100 million bridge, including an additional three lines, had to be built next to the original six lines of the Kosciuszko Bridge. The new bridge will be part of a planned renovation project for all intersections. DOT Supervisor Peter King stated that this new bridge may be necessary to avoid severe traffic backups in the neighborhood streets around the bridge during Kosciuszko renovation. King feels that in order to complete the increasing amount of roads and intersections that are very dense, the "second parallel range" may be the answer.
East bridge construction
In 2009, it was decided to replace the 1939 structure with a new bridge, consisting of a five-lane range eastward, four westbound lanes, bike lanes, and paths. Four designs are considered for the new structure: fixed-cable bridges, curved bridges, girder bridges boxes, and deck bridge decks. The design of the cable-stayed bridge, chosen after a public review process, made the bridge to replace the first cable-stayed bridge in New York City since the Brooklyn Bridge (which has a hybrid suspension/cable-hanging design), as well as the first major bridge in New York City since completion Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964.
Construction was originally expected to begin in 2013, but was later postponed until winter 2014. About 140 trees were moved on both sides of the bridge in April 2014 in preparation for rebuilding, although officials said twice the number of trees would be replanted after the bridge reconstruction was completed.
On May 23, 2014, a $ 554,770,000 design-build contract was awarded to a team consisting of Skanska, who will manage the partners; Ecco III from Yonkers; Kiewit Corporation of Nebraska; and HNTB of Kansas as the primary design firm. This is the largest single contract ever awarded by the New York State Department of Transportation. The work involved in building a new east bridge, completed in 2017; the existing eastern structure will then be destroyed. The west air bridge will then be completed by 2020. The new bridge is under construction since the Kosciuszko Bridge is known as the famous traffic jam; according to The New York Times , it is "probably the most famous [bridge] city, hated and feared by drivers and identical in traffic reports with congestion, stop-and-go and general delays." The bridge will reduce delays by up to 65% during rush hours, as well as providing new pedestrian/bike connections between boroughs.
On December 4, 2014, work began on the eastern bridge, which requires temporarily narrowing the entrance of Meeker Avenue on the Brooklyn side of the bridge to expand it in the long run. Work is done during the day, while causing more traffic congestion. In August 2015, two pylons for the eastward bridge, as well as part of the bridge structure, are under construction. The 287-foot (87 m) pylons drowned from 150 to 185 feet (46 to 56 m), with each pylon resting on four foundations at the depth. Once the pylons are finished, a steel-and-concrete support deck piece called a dock table is built between two pylons. Another deck section was then built out of the dock table, with two wires supporting each section, creating a 1,1001 foot (305 m) deck supported by 56 cables in total. A 4,000-short-ton counterweight (3,600-length-ton) is built beneath the western part of the eastern bridge as the eastern part is longer and heavier. The new bridge was built to withstand traffic for a century.
The new east bridge, which will initially host both traffic directions, opened earlier than scheduled on April 27, 2017, with a ceremony attended by Governor Andrew Cuomo. This bridge is the first of several bridges across the city to feature an advanced lighting system - part of the "New York Harbor Palace" of the Governor Cuomo initiative - which will allow the bridge to show the light show as a tourist attraction. At that time, five of the six lanes of traffic were diverted to a new bridge, with one lane of traffic to the west while using the old bridge until the end of the month. The new bridge stores the same name as the original to commemorate Tadeusz Ko? Ciuszko.
Western bridge construction
Part of the original structure was set to be destroyed by a controlled explosion in the summer of 2017 so work on the new west bridge could begin soon. The dismantling of this type, starting with Governor Cuomo who personally blew up the bridge, saved seven to nine months compared to if the entire bridge had been thoroughly dismantled. The new west path and pedestrian/bicycle path will be ready by 2020, providing a bridge with additional traffic capacity. Initial reports speculated that the blast date would be July 11, but the New York State Department of Transport later confirmed that the bridge would be destroyed gradually without any explosion. Instead, the main span of the bridge will be lowered to the barge, and the approach will then explode. This updated plan is meant to be environmentally friendly because fewer bridges will spread to the river below. At that time there is no date set for actual disassembly.
The main span of the old bridge is lowered to two barges tied together, and on July 26, 2017, the main span is sent to New Jersey for recycling. This marks the completion of the first phase of dismantling the old bridge. Approach to the previous major range was destroyed on October 1, 2017, with a blast of 944 small explosive costs. This is the biggest explosive demolition in New York City and the first bridge there. The country will recycle twenty rolls of approach, which weigh a combined 22,000,000 pounds (10,000,000 kg).
Controversy
In 2008, it was discovered that two Native American tribes from Queens, Matinecocks and the Canarsies, were not informed of the bridge replacement project under federal law, which angered them. The Delaware Nation, in Oklahoma, and Stockbridge-Munsee, in Wisconsin, both from New York City, were given a month to comment on the bridge project, in addition to Matinecocks and Canarsies.
See also
- Bridge portal
- New York Portal
- New York City Portal
- Transportation in New York City
References
External links
- New York State Department of Transportation The Kosciuszko Bridge Project
- Phase 1 Overview
- NYCRoads.com Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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