A baker’s dozen of local politicians are calling on Gov. Hochul’s administration to commit to more community outreach around plans to repair and refresh the Cross Bronx Expressway.
A letter sent earlier this month by 13 elected officials to Hochul and state Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez calls on the Albany administration to ensure adequate public input for the state’s plan to repair five bridges along the notorious corridor.
“This project represents a $900 million public investment, and we want to ensure it achieves the strongest possible outcomes for residents,” the pols wrote. “That includes transparency in the process, adequate time for meaningful community input, and a dialogue about the proposals and their environmental impact.”
The letter, sent at the request of the Bronx River Alliance, is signed by Bronx State Assembly members Emérita Torres, Yudelka Tapia, Landon Dais and Amanda Septimo, State Senators Luis Sepúlveda, Gustavo Rivera, Jose Serrano and Nathalia Fernandez, Bronx City Council members Rafael Salamanca Jr. and Amanda Farías, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, City Comptroller Brad Lander and U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres.
The state’s plans to overhaul the Cross Bronx Expressway consist of two efforts: one, as previously reported by the Daily News, would cap sections of the thoroughfare with parks and green space — a joint effort by the state and city transportation departments.
The other, more controversial effort — referenced in the letter — involves repairs to five elevated sections of the roadway that may require closures to sections of the highway.
State DOT officials are considering a plan that would involve building a connecting road across the Bronx River to keep traffic flowing while those repairs are underway. Critics — including environmental groups, local community groups and public transit advocates — say the additional road amounts to a widening of the Cross Bronx Expressway, introducing more traffic and pollution to nearby neighborhoods.
This month’s letter from local electeds called on the state to give “full consideration” to plans that would omit the construction of a connecting road.
In a statement, state DOT spokesman Rolando Infante said no decision has been made yet regarding the connector.
“The project is not an expansion of the expressway and a number of options are being considered to accommodate existing expressway traffic and improve bike/pedestrian connectivity,” he said. “The New York State Department of Transportation is committed to robust community engagement at every step in the process and the selection of an option will be informed by public input.”
Infante said the project’s environmental assessment, which will lay an evaluation of the state’s options, will be released for public comment later this year.
