Increased Truck Enforcement, New Repairs on Brooklyn-Queens Expressway

With the structural integrity of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway at risk, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the City will take steps to protect this vital artery from further deterioration. The proposals, made by a panel of experts convened by the Mayor in 2019 to evaluate the best options to preserve the structural integrity of the BQE, will include increasing truck enforcement and performing urgent, structural repairs on the BQE.

The new measures are included in an Executive Order signed by the Mayor to create the new NYPD BQE Truck Enforcement Task Force. This new unit will increase enforcement against illegal, overweight trucks that are exacerbating the BQE’s structural issues.

Also included in this proposal is the repair of the Hicks Street Wall and sections of the cantilever, which will commence in the spring, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020. The design process to rebuild the most deteriorated portions of the cantilever will start this summer, with work to be complete by the end of 2022.

“The BQE is one of the main arteries of our City, which is why we are immediately increasing enforcement against overweight trucks and addressing the highway’s most pressing structural issues,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I applaud the expert panel for putting forward several solutions to preserve the BQE, and we will continue to explore the next steps necessary to keep New Yorkers safe and moving.”

“The BQE is a vital stretch of roadway in New York City and I thank the expert panel for their work helping identify solutions to the structural issues it faces,” said Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin. “As we work on immediate repairs to key sections of the roadway, we will be partnering with law enforcement to crack down on illegal overweight trucks.”

Federal guidelines and posted signage limits trucks to a maximum of 80,000 pounds or 40 tons, while sensors have determined that some trucks along the roadway are more than double that weight, as much as 170,000 pounds. The excessive weight can do serious damage to the roadway’s structural integrity.