Connecticut's "Q" Bridge Project Faces Scrutiny

A new I-95 bridge in New Haven draws federal concern over rising project costs. Also, plans are developing for a restoration of Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway.

I-95 Bridge Faces Hurdles

A new $1.4 billion bridge planned for Interstate 95 in Connecticut is facing increased scrutiny from the Federal Highway Administration because of rising project cost estimates.

Bradley Keazer, the federal agency's Connecticut division administrator, sent a letter last fall to the Connecticut Department of Transportation expressing concern about the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge project, whose estimated costs rose from $850 million to $1.4 billion. The bridge that will cross the Quinnipiac River in New Haven is also informally known as the "Q" Bridge.

The department's commissioner, Stephen Korta, responded to the letter by attributing the rise in scope and cost to requests from the City of New Haven to add features, such as a waterfront park. Korta promised to take up the issue with the city's mayor, John DeStefano, Jr.

The federal agency, which provides around 80 percent of the funding for Connecticut's highway projects, requested that the state accept a re-evaluation of the project or shift instead to other planned roadwork west of the bridge while it reviews the matter. The state agency was expected to respond to the federal request last month.

Repair Work for Regional Airports

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently approved a series of maintenance projects for the area's three major airports.

The authority's Board of Commissioners earmarked $2.1 million for roadway realignment, traffic signals, and signage work, as well as pavement markings and roadside barrier installation - all to improve traffic flow at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens.

The authority allocated another $9 million to retain contractors and complete minor on-call projects at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J. It also assigned $6 million to work that will keep runways at LaGuardia Airport in Queens in a state of good repair.

All of the projects will run on an on-call basis, according to the authority's spokesman.

Restoring Original Design of Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway

A new project planned for Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway will make the roadway more pedestrian-friendly and restore the original 1870s design by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the architects of Manhattan's Central Park and Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

The Prospect Park Alliance Office of Design and Construction, in collaboration with the New York City Department of Transportation, is completing design work and a traffic flow analysis for plans to restore or widen 1,700 ft. of the parkway's median from Washington Avenue to Grand Army Plaza, a stretch that includes the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Brooklyn Public Library.

Previous modifications had narrowed and partially removed the parkway's median. The alliance will oversee construction of the $5.9 million project, funded by the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and federal transportation aid. The work would begin next year and completion is slated for 2009.

Olmsted and Vaux are credited with coining the term "parkway" to describe a landscaped road for "pleasure-riding and driving", according to the alliance.