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6h ago

Mamdani Unveils $3.5–$4 Billion Plan to Rebuild BQE Central

Using temporary two-level bypasses to keep traffic moving, the city will repair the triple‑cantilever to extend its service life by about 40 years.

The city plans to build a temporary highway atop Furman Street in order to rebuild the adjacent triple-cantilver structure of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
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Overview

  • Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the plan on Monday, August 24, 2026, calling for a roughly 10-year rehabilitation that the city expects to start construction around 2030 and finish by about 2040.
  • The proposal funds two temporary bypasses to carry traffic off the cantilever during work: a two-level structure along Furman Street beneath the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and a second elevated link over the Brooklyn Bridge approach toward the Manhattan Bridge.
  • The rehabilitation focuses on core structural fixes—replacing deteriorated deck joints and concrete, removing corroded rebar, and upgrading drainage, railings, and lighting—with the rebuilt section designed to last about 40 years.
  • City officials estimate the project at $3.5 to $4 billion but have not released a full funding plan and say the city owns only the 1.5-mile BQE Central segment, so broader corridor changes will require state cooperation.
  • The work will close portions of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and affect nearby parkland, trigger an environmental review and land-use actions before construction, and is expected to face local opposition over access, noise, and visual impacts.