Queens, New York – Hardesty & Hanover, LLP, representatives attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Contract I of the Kew Gardens Interchange Rehabilitation project.  The ceremony was held to kick off the much-needed rehabilitation of the congested Kew Gardens interchange, consisting of the Van Wyck Expressway, Grand Central Parkway, and Jackie Robinson Parkway.  Representing Hardesty & Hanover were Partners Charles Gozdziewski and Daniel Wan, and Principal Associate and Project Manager for the design team, William Nyman.  A who’s who of local government and transportation officials were also in attendance, including Acting State Transportation Commissioner Stanley Gee and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, as well as Congressman Gregory Meeks, State Senators Malcolm Smith, Shirley Huntley, Frank Padavan, and Toby Ann Stavinsky along with other key representatives of State and local government.  Each spoke of the project’s significance and its positive impacts on local commerce, industry, residents, and commuters.  “Our overall goal is to increase mobility and make it easier to get through,” said Commissioner Stanley Gee.

Contract I of the project, which is now beginning the construction phase, targets the perpetually bottle-necked Van Wyck Expressway. Replacement or reconstruction of six bridges along with extensive retaining wall construction is included in the project, which is expected to cost $148 million and take about five years to complete.  Auxiliary lanes will be added to the Van Wyck in an effort to ease traffic flow in the section of the Van Wyck Expressway between Union Turnpike and Hillside Ave. Innovative use of the precast concrete NEXT beams will be incorporated in the Queens Blvd Bridge. The project interfaces with a subway station and includes upgrading station access by the reconstruction of a pedestrian underpass and addition of an elevator for New York City Transit.

Hardesty & Hanover is the lead designer for the ongoing multi-phase project. Contract I Hardesty & Hanover project work has included inspection and survey; traffic analysis; environmental issues screening; and structural studies, all in compliance with NYSDOT standard procedures. The resulting Design Reports set the groundwork for the final design and defined the scope of improvements to be achieved with each contract. H&H developed concepts to improve the operation of the interchange, which will be implemented in coordination with the replacement of the structures. Extensive interim fatigue repairs were also designed and were previously implemented. Final Design for Contract 2, which includes replacement of the Van Wyck Expressway mainline viaducts over the Grand Central Parkway, Jackie Robinson Parkway, and Union Turnpike, is now underway as construction work proceeds on Contract 1.