Part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway will once again shut down for a weekend of necessary repairs next month.
The Queens-bound BQE between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street will be fully closed to traffic from 2 a.m. on Saturday, April 13 to 4 a.m. on Monday, April 15, according to the city’s Department of Transportation. Brooklyn-bound lanes will remain open.
Six entrance ramps along the Queens-bound BQE will also close for the weekend: 3rd Avenue at 65th Street, 6th Avenue at 65th Street, Prospect Expressway, Hamilton Avenue, Atlantic Avenue, Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn Bridge, and Manhattan Bridge.
Motorists will have to exit the expressway and follow a signed detour route until they can re-enter the BQE. The detours will be “heavily signed,” according to the DOT, and messages will be posted along major thoroughfares throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens warning drivers of the impending closures. Traffic enforcement agents will be stationed at key points along the detours to aid drivers and pedestrians navigate the route.
The agency strongly encouraged travelers to avoid the BQE altogether during the closure, and to anticipate heavy traffic and longer-than-usual travel times if they must take the route.
The shutdown will allow the DOT to perform much-needed short-term repairs on the infamous Triple Cantilever as the city awaits federal funding to fully overhaul the aging span, which experts have warned is quickly becoming unsafe. Building on work completed during another closure last fall, crews will add new concrete and reinforce steel bars on sections of the roadway near Clark Street and Grace Court.
“Just as we did successfully last fall, we continue to deliver critical repairs to the BQE to preserve its lifespan while at the same time trying to minimize impact on the local community,” said DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, in a statement. “And this time again we will keep the public closely updated on our progress as we plan ahead for this work.”
Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights locals bemoaned the impact the most recent closure had on their neighborhoods, which were filled with diverted traffic for the weekend, though they said the DOT had provided plenty of advanced warning.
A final round of closures are planned for the first week in June.
Additional information on the closures and detailed maps of detour routes are available on the DOT’s website.
