Broadway traffic disruption as Henry Hudson Parkway Bridge repairs resume

Traffic cones have become the latest fixture on Broadway between Lakeview Place and West 254th Street, where construction equipment has been abandoned for several weeks. 

As of Monday, Sept. 23, the city’s department of transportation alerted Community Board 8 construction in the area will resume Sept. 30,with the divison of bridges set to continue the rehabilitation of the portion Henry Hudson Parkway Bridge running over Broadway. 

The continued construction will reduce the northbound side to one travel lane and the parking lane will remain closed, according to the agency. The sidewalk alongside the project, as well as the bike lane, are set to remain open but shifted to accommodate pedestrians and bikers. 

According to the department of transportation, the area is an active construction zone and the work is expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year. 

Oliveira Contracting, a city-based contractor, is overseeing the project and filed a permit beginning Sept. 5 that expires Dec. 3, allowing the company to occupy the roadway and sidewalk with its equipment, which currently occupies nearly 12 parking spots underneath the Henry Hudson Parkway Bridge.

This causes a parking problem in a neighborhood already rife with cars. 

The project of rehabilitating the bridge portion of the roadway has been a long process, with CB8 notifying residents in July work had been extended and was set to continue through the summer months without a definitive end date. 

The repairs on the bridge date back to 2022, when the transportation department began an initiative to rehabilitate eight bridges across the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens.

Construction on the bridges includes everything from joint, steel and concrete repairs or replacements, as well electrical repairs, structural deck repairs, sidewalk and railing repairs, milling and paving, painting and striping, lighting upgrades, and other necessities to keep the bridge safe for those traveling across and underneath. 

The project, according to the city website, began in 2022, with an original anticipated end in September of this year. 

Project managers did not respond to requests for comment at press time. 

Maintaining accommodations for pedestrians and bike travelers along the roadway is vital in a city that often ends up blocking its sidewalks with construction, forcing people into unsafe situations as they travel.

Recently, the sidewalk above the parkway along West 232nd Street was blocked by construction equipment, forcing pedestrians into the street, ironically, as crews built a bike lane for safer travel. 

A report released in July by the state comptroller’s office found local governments own just about half of all bridges in the state and 10 percent of local bridges are in poor condition. The report said a whopping $28.7 billion is needed to foot the bill of repairing all of the local bridges.

Despite all bridges requiring an inspection every two years, 9 percent of the state’s bridges are in poor condition. 

The Henry Hudson parkway, built in 1937, runs for more than 10 miles, with near constant construction on the roadway. There is currently another long-running project further north along the parkway by the Kappock Street exit, where construction of a bike path is ongoing. 

As for the Broadway site, despite appearing abandoned, work is set to resume soon.