Cross Bronx/Bruckner Interchange Renovation

Cost: $204 million

Development Team

Owner: New York State Department of Transportation, Long Island City
Construction Manager: HAKS Engineers, NYC
General Contractor: DeFoe Corp., Mount Vernon, N.Y.
Design Engineer (Interchange): Hardesty & Hanover Consulting Engineers, NYC
Design Engineer (Roadway): Liro Kassner Inc., Syosset, N.Y.
Design Engineer (Throgs Neck southbound over westbound CBE): Infra Tech
Associates, NYC
Design Engineer: (ITS): Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas Inc., NYC
Construction Inspection Consultant: Edwards & Kelcey Engineering, Inc, Morristown, N.J.
Construction Inspection Consultant: Haider Engineering, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Concrete Contractor: United States Rebar Inc., Freeport, N.Y.
Precast Concrete Contractor: CPI Constructors/Consultants, Bronxville, NYC
Steel Erector: DeFore-Rice JV, Mount Vernon, N.Y.
Electrical Contractor: Hellman Electric Corp., Whitestone, N.Y.
Welding Consultant: JB Welding Inc., Cincinnatus, N.Y.

The Cross Bronx Expressway has been congested ever since it cut its way across the Bronx in the 1950s.

The connection of the Cross Bronx to the Bruckner Expressway, which links it to the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges into Queens as well as to the New England Thruway, is one of the most trafficked interchanges in the region. It carries an average of 250,000 vehicles everyday.

Given its age and level of usage, it was no surprise that a decade ago when the New York State Department of Transportation investigated the condition of the interchange, it found some serious structural and design problems. They included a severely deteriorated reinforced concrete deck, fatigue-prone details and seismic-deficient rocker bearings, insufficient horizontal and vertical stopping sight distances and insufficient merging distance for the center lanes between the westbound Cross Bronx and the southbound Bruckner.

To renovate/redesign/reconstruct the interchange took the combined efforts of four engineering firms coordinated by HAKS Engineering, which functioned as construction manger. Work began in 1999 and was completed in June 2002, a year ahead of schedule and about $36 million below projected costs.
The project included the reconstruction of 14 ramps and bridge structures along with portions of the Cross Bronx, Throgs Neck, Bruckner and Hutchinson River Expressways.

In order to maintain the same volume of traffic during construction, a temporary elevated structure with an open grid deck was designed to carry two exit lanes of the westbound Cross Bronx to the southbound Bruckner. Another portion of the slab was modified to carry one lane of traffic from the eastbound Cross Bronx to the Whitestone Bridge. This temporary ramp resulted in significant traffic flow improvements, so the DOT decided to keep it as a permanent one.

The interchange's old 7.5-in. deck was replaced by an 8.5-in deck for 130 spans, a process that involved pouring one million sq. ft. of concrete. Widening 20 spans of the eastbound Cross Bronx included expanding the abutments and replacing the existing two-column concrete piers with three-column piers in several locations.

The old steel box girder cap beams were demolished in stages and replaced with reinforced concrete cap beams at three piers. In order to improve sight distances, the top of the retaining and abutment walls were modified.

The on-grade work included milling of asphalt pavement; repair of concrete pavement; modifying drainage structures; construction of flush shoulders; resurfacing roadways, ramps and shoulders; and installing new lighting.

Finally, closed-circuit TV cameras were installed to monitor traffic then inform motorists of traffic conditions via new electronic message boards.