Both Brooklyn and Queens are celebrating opening day for the first span of the new Kosciuszko Bridge. NY1's Zack Fink filed the following report.
Driving the 1932 Packer that was used by former Governor and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Governor Andrew Cuomo took the ceremonial first drive along the new Kosciuszko Bridge.
FDR was president when the original Kosciuszko was opened for traffic in 1939. The hulking, rusty old span is set to be felled by explosives this summer.
The new bridge will have two parts when complete, one for vehicles coming from Queens and the other for those leaving Brooklyn.
"Now, we didn't just build a bridge. We built a beautiful bridge," Cuomo said. "This is the first cable-stayed bridge built in New York. Towers of 180 feet, almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty."
A bridge like this new one requires less maintenance than the old truss bridge, which costs millions of dollars a year to maintain. In 1939, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway didn't pass over the bridge like it does today. It was designed for 10,000 daily vehicles. Now, it takes over 180,000.
The new bridge is also 35 feet lower, which will improve traffic since trucks no longer have to slow down as much to take the steeper grade.
The nautical history of Newtown Creek, over which the bridge is built, has also changed.
"Initially, when the bridge was built, that was to accommodate some of the warships that they were anticipating during the second World War. So it was built high to allow for some of the warships to come into Newtown Creek," said deputy project director Tulun Tuglu.
Construction began here in 2014 and got done four years ahead of schedule, according to the Cuomo administration. That's due in part to a fast-track program known as design-build. It's something Cuomo has championed for other projects, such as the new Tappan Zee Bridge, which crosses the Hudson between Rockland and Westchester counties.
"The preparatory work that you do with the design happens while you are constructing. It's overlapped, therefore it is easier and faster delivery method," Tuglu said.
Later Thursday evening, Cuomo hit the switch to light up the new Kosciuszko Bridge. A musical accompaniment was broadcast on two local radio stations, but the event ended up being a bit of a bust due to rain and fog.
Cuomo is planning to light up the seven bridges and tunnels operated by the MTA, as well as the George Washington Bridge, which is controlled by the Port Authority. The idea is to make them tourist attractions.