Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Rehabilitation

Brief Overview

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYS DOT) awarded Slattery Skanska a $230 million contract to rehabilitate two miles of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Queens, NY. The project included reconstruction of roadway, ramps and overpass bridges and resurfacing and rehabilitation work on streets below the main structure, as well as reconstruction of the Grand Central Parkway Connector. Slattery Skanska subsidiary, Underpinning & Foundation Skanska drilled augered soldier piles, cast-in-place concrete pipe piles and miscellaneous timber piles.  Koch Skanska managed the super-structure steel procurement, fabrication and erection.

This undertaking widened travel and shoulder lanes, aligned roadway and ramps to reduce curvature, and upgraded drainage systems and other utilities. Workers demolished 19 bridges, constructed 15 new road bridges and two railroad bridges, relocated sections of railroad and installed 18,000 linear feet of retaining walls.

The contract also required that the team lower the elevation of 34th and 35th Avenues. A challenging aspect of this project was the NYS DOT’s requirement that all lanes on the Expressway remain open to vehicular traffic during rush hours. That condition requires close coordination with local businesses, residents and New York City DOT, which issued permits for this project.