NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday plans to study a reimagining of the Cross Bronx Expressway which has long been a source of disparities in the borough.
The community-driven effort is funded by a $2 million U.S. Department of Transportation Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant with a goal of trying to alleviate some of the burdens caused by the highway on surrounding communities.
The Cross Bronx Expressway was built largely in the 1950s and 1960s. The highway essentially divided the borough, cutting directly through mostly Black and Latino working-class neighborhoods. The highway brought significant noise and air pollution while elevating asthma rates and other health concerns in the area.
Last week, participating agencies formally signed the grant which will fund the “Reimagining the Cross-Bronx Expressway” study, identifying strategies to deck sections of the expressway and create new public open space with pedestrian and bike connections. The decks will also reconnect the north and south neighborhoods, reduce vehicle emissions and address inequitable public health outcomes across the adjacent communities. Decks can also improve safety on local streets and along the corridor with a focus on ramps on and off the highway and more sustainably manage freight and other vehicle traffic.
“The Cross-Bronx Expressway was a scar carved through the heart of the Bronx, turning bustling streets into ghost towns,” said Adams. “But 50 years later, we see the resilience of this great borough, and we have an opportunity to make the Bronx whole again. This historic study will allow us to reimagine the entire Cross-Bronx corridor and the communities around it, and we will look at every possible way to reduce pollution and noise, improve safety and sustainability, and reconnect the communities of this borough.”
The RAISE grant will fund work to consult with residents, community groups, and stakeholders to create a common understanding about community needs and create a vision for the plan through that input. By 2024, a multiyear plan will be presented with both short and long-term project proposals to improve the neighborhood condition around the highway.
“Since my first State of the State address, I have made it clear that reconnecting communities divided by infrastructure decisions made generations ago has been a top priority,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “I am proud to partner with the mayor on this grant, which will support vital community engagement programming and listening sessions to help reimagine the future of the Cross-Bronx Expressway, an essential component of righting the wrongs made when the Expressway was constructed more than seventy years ago.”
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