A 70-year-old, three-tiered section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway known as the Triple Cantilever is showing significant deterioration and generating safety and neighborhood impacts. The structure is bolted into a wall beneath the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and was once an engineering marvel. Local leaders report public health hazards, economic displacement, and other harms across Brooklyn and Queens. A prior report warned trucks may need diversion by 2026 without repairs. The New York City Department of Transportation reports completed repairs, enforcement against overweight vehicles, and monitoring that reduced overweight traffic by 60% but officials and residents remain concerned about heavy trucks exceeding the roadway's design.
"It has created public health hazards and economic displacement and all kinds of harms for communities across Brooklyn and Queens," said Lara Birnback, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association.
"The completion of extensive repairs, successful efforts to crack down on overweight vehicles, and high-tech monitoring of the structure has extended its lifespan and allowed us to advance a long-term solution," a DOT spokesperson said, noting overweight vehicle traffic has been reduced by 60%.
"This structure was built to withstand weights of about [70,000] to 80,000 pounds per vehicle," said State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat. "Right now, we have some trucks on this highway that are exceeding 150,000 pounds, and so what's happening over time is the ends
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