Work Starts On $14.3M Astoria Boulevard Bridge Revamp

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Construction has started on a $14.3 million project to revamp the Astoria Boulevard bridge over the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, New York State Department of Transportation announced Monday.

The rehabilitation work will fortify the bridge that crosses the ramp from the eastbound BQE to the eastbound Grand Central Parkway with new steel beams, a new roadway deck and a new drainage system.

Improvements will also include LED lighting, safety barriers, fencing and upgraded utilities.

The project is scheduled to wrap up in spring 2022, the agency said in a news release.

“The project is part of Governor Cuomo’s ongoing commitment to restore aging infrastructure and build it back better than before, creating a more resilient transportation network that promotes growth and improves quality of life,” New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said. “Once completed, this much-needed project in Queens will improve travel on one of the borough’s most important roadways and help keep people and commerce on the move for decades to come.”

Two lanes of traffic on Astoria Boulevard will remain open throughout construction.

Pedestrians will have to use a temporary walkway on the south side of the bridge while workers upgrade utility lines and build a new sidewalk.