BQE Central Project
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About the Project
The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) is an essential component of the region’s transportation network. It not only serves to connect Brooklyn with key access points in Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, but it also carries regional truck and other traffic, keeping it from local Brooklyn streets.
The BQE Central Project focuses on a long-term fix for the highway that prioritizes safety, connectivity, and resiliency. It includes the City-owned portion of the BQE (Interstate-278) from the Atlantic Avenue to the Sands Street interchanges in Brooklyn. This 1.5-mile section includes multiple bridge structures – including the historic 0.4-mile-long “Triple Cantilever” – as well as other ramps and retaining walls along the interstate corridor.
The project will address the aging infrastructure and improve connections and mobility for all who travel across and along the BQE Central corridor, including vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
After an extensive community visioning process, the BQE Central Project is now preparing to enter the environmental review process. Through this process, there will be many opportunities for stakeholder input.
A Joint Effort
Three Joint Lead Agencies are involved in the Project:
The US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is responsible for federal approvals.
The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is responsible for disbursing federal funds and providing oversight of the Project.
The New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) is responsible for local approvals and is the project sponsor that will seek funding and build the Project.
The Joint Lead Agencies will coordinate with numerous agencies, organizations, and tribal nations – as well as the public – throughout the environmental review process to identify impacts and plan for their mitigation.
BQE Background
Built between 1937 and 1964, the BQE is Brooklyn’s only interstate highway and plays a major role in moving people and goods locally and regionally. Approximately 150,000 vehicles use BQE daily – 13,000 of them trucks, making this a vital freight corridor.
Both the City of New York and the State of New York own various sections of the BQE:
The City owns the 1.5 mile section of the BQE from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street, known as BQE Central, that is the focus of this project. BQE Central includes the Triple Cantilever in Brooklyn Heights.
The State owns the rest of the 10.6 miles of BQE in Brooklyn that are outside of the scope of this project, including:
- Areas in north and south Brooklyn where the highway is below street level (trenches)
- Areas where the highway is on a structure above street level (viaducts)
From 2022 to 2024, NYC DOT led a community visioning process that included the State-owned sections that are outside of the BQE Central scope. Information on that effort can be found on the BQE Corridor Vision website.
Public Engagement
The NYC DOT, NYSDOT, and FHWA are preparing to initiate an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the BQE Central Project.
The agencies will host a series of public information meetings to begin this process.
Previous Events
BQE Project Meeting: Draft Needs, Purpose, & Objectives (In-person)
Tuesday, December 10
BQE Project Meeting: Draft Needs, Purpose, & Objectives (Virtual – Daytime)
Wednesday, December 11
BQE Project Meeting: Draft Needs, Purpose, & Objectives (Virtual – Evening)
Thursday, December 12
Meeting Materials
Please contact NYC DOT if you need accessibility assistance with these materials.
BQE Central Pre-NOI Engagement
BQE Project Meeting: Draft Needs, Purpose, & Objectives – December 2024 (annotated)
Contact
Public Comments
The Joint Lead Agencies invite you to make comments regarding the project, including (but not limited to) the draft needs, purpose, and objectives:
Provide feedback to NYC DOT via postal mail:
NYC Department of Transportation
BQE Central Project Team
55 Water Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10041