Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz yesterday accused the state and feds of a “colossal waste of time and money” for abandoning plans to rebuild the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens and Gowanus expressways.
In a scathing letter to Gov. Cuomo asking him to reconsider both projects, Markowitz said he understands the state is “facing difficult budgetary times,” but pulling the plug “is a show of disrespect” to Brooklyn, considering both elevated roadways are among America’s most traveled and need serious renovations.
He also said that millions of dollars in taxpayer money has been wasted studying improvements to both highways. The Gowanus Expressway’s environmental review began in 199,7 and a similar review for revamping a 1.5-mile section of the BQE in Brooklyn Heights kicked off in 2008.
“Literally thousands of hours of time by public participants and city and state employees has been invested in stakeholder meetings and in the scoping and planning process,” Markowitz wrote.
“Additionally, millions of dollars have been spent on contracts, data collection, engineers, outreach, and everything else that accompanies environmental review. Terminating these projects tosses nearly all that public money and time away.”
The governor’s office did not return messages.
State Department of Transportation spokesman Adam Levine said between “$4 million to $5 million” was spend studying the BQE but was unable to provide the cost of studying the Gowanus Expressway improvements at press time.
He also said the findings of the studies would be used for future repair work to both highways – although not the major revamps once planned.
Plans for improving the BQE, from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street in Brooklyn Heights, ranged from a $280 million renovation of the decrepit roadway – including the two-level portion that famously generates booming sounds from under the Brooklyn Heights Promenade – to various proposals to ease snarling traffic with vehicular tunnels that would’ve run up to $20 billion.
Officials had also proposed a 3.8-mile rehabilitation of the Gowanus Expressway from Sixth Avenue to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. It would have ranged from $2 billion in repairs to replacing much of the elevated highway in Sunset Park with a $15 billion underground tunnel.
The state DOT has said recent inspections of the two highways showed they do not require major repairs at this time.