Old & New Kosciuszko Bridges

The Kosciuszko Bridge, dedicated in 1939, carries the BQE at a dizzying height across Newtown Creek. It’s a notorious bottleneck on the BQE, and like much of New York City’s infrastructure, its maintenance has been neglected for decades. A few years ago, the powers that be decided to replace it.

The eastbound span of the new bridge is rising beside the old – a wonderful event if you happen to be addicted to photographing New York architecture and infrastructure. No major bridges have been constructed in the City since the Verrazzano in the 1960s. The new bridge will be cable-stayed, and will have 9 lanes plus a bike path and pedestrian walkway. For more details, see the official site and the Wikipedia article.

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Government-provided image of the new BQE bridge over Newtown Creek.

In the photos below, you can see the masts of side and the underpinnings of the roadway. All photos (c) 2016 Dianne L. Durante, which means: if you want to use them elsewhere, ask me nicely first.

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View of the Manhattan skyline from a much, much lower bridge over Newtown Creek, at Grand Avenue. Empire State Building near the left; Bank of America and Chrysler Buildings near the center; Citicorp and 432 Park toward the right.

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