Mayor Mamdani unveils $4 billion plan to rebuild crumbling BQE section

Mayor Zohran Mamdani presented a $4 billion scheme to fix the crumbling triple-cantilever segment of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, a stretch under city control near Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street. Groundbreaking is not expected before 2030, and the reconstruction is projected to last about ten years, adding roughly 40 years of service life to the highway. Unlike earlier ideas that called for full demolition, the plan retains the stacked roadways and adds a temporary, two-level bypass that will run atop Furman Street and over the Brooklyn Bridge approach to the Manhattan Bridge, keeping traffic off local streets.

The temporary route is designed to match the height of the existing Queens-bound lanes, reducing visual and functional impacts on the Brooklyn Heights promenade. Critics note that the mayor’s administration is receiving credit for work that began under previous mayors, including Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams, and that political opponents accuse the office of “propaganda.” Nonetheless, officials argue the bypass strategy lessens community disruption compared with past proposals.