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Van Wyck Expressway (I-678) Capacity and Access

Improvements to John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport Project

Public Information Meeting

March 25, 2019

Andrew M. Cuomo, GovernorWahid Albert, P.E., Chief Engineer

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Project Corridor Van Wyck Expressway (VWE) – Hoover Avenue to southern

end of Federal Circle at entrance to JFK Airport (4.3 miles)

Major transportation corridor providing access to and from

JFK Airport

Major route for commercial truck traffic

22 existing bridges, 1 new bridge – including 4 Long Island

Rail Road (LIRR) bridges

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Hoover AvenueJFK Airport

Federal CircleLIRR Bridges

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Project Needs

Existing view of VWE looking south from Hillside Avenue Existing view of northbound exit ramp to Linden Boulevard

Van Wyck Expressway (VWE) to/from JFK Airport is currently

congested and will worsen with airport growth

Location and geometry of ramps contribute to VWE congestion

Bridges are old and have structural deficiencies

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Project Purpose Provide increased capacity on the Van Wyck Expressway

(VWE) between the Kew Gardens Interchange (KGI) and

JFK Airport to improve vehicular access to/from airport

Address the operational, geometric and structural

deficiencies on the VWE between the KGI and JFK

Airport

Existing southbound exit ramp to Liberty Avenue

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Project Objectives Provide an additional vehicular travel lane on the Van Wyck

Expressway (VWE) in each direction between the Kew

Gardens Interchange and JFK Airport

Address operational and geometric deficiencies of the exit and

entrance ramps within the identified project limits

Address structural deficiencies of the bridges on or crossing

over the VWE within the project limits

Existing view of VWE looking south between

101st Avenue and Liberty AvenueExisting view of southbound exit ramp to

Liberty AvenueExisting view of Long Island Rail Road Bridges

(looking north)

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National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

NEPA is a federal requirement that provides for a

decision-making process to consider the effects of

federally funded and/or permitted projects on the

natural and built environment

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the

NYS Department of Transportation are the joint lead

agencies for the Project

A NEPA Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is

being prepared for this Project, which will satisfy the

requirements of the State Environmental Quality

Review Act (SEQRA)

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National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

The EIS documents the assessment of effects of the

Project and identifies mitigation measures for

adverse effects

The lead agencies are required to provide meaningful

opportunities for public participation during the

environmental process, and will consider the agency

and public comments received

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Build Alternative Managed-Use Lane (MUL) to/from JFK Airport

High Occupancy Vehicle Lane with 2 or more occupants

per vehicle (HOV2+) or 3 or more occupants per vehicle

(HOV3+) including occupied Taxi & For-Hire Vehicles with

at least 1 passenger

Existing view looking south from Hillside Avenue Proposed view looking south from Hillside Avenue

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Build Alternative Existing entrance and exit ramps reconfigured

22 existing bridges rehabilitated, retrofitted, replaced

or widened

One new bridge constructed

Proposed view looking south between

Linden Boulevard and Foch Boulevard

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Ramp ReconfigurationsNorthbound Van Wyck Expressway (from north to south)

Reconfigure ramps between Jamaica and Atlantic Avenues –

instead of an entrance ramp followed by an exit ramp,

improvement will consist of an exit ramp followed by an

entrance ramp

Close exit ramp to Atlantic Avenue / 94th Avenue – traffic will

use exit ramps to Liberty Avenue or Jamaica Avenue

Relocate exit ramp to Linden Boulevard 400 feet to the south

Proposed view of northbound exit ramp to Jamaica Avenue

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Reconfigure ramp between Atlantic and 101st Avenues –

improvement will consist of changing the existing southbound

entrance ramp to a new exit ramp

Reconfigure ramp between 101st and Liberty Avenues –

improvement will consist of changing the existing southbound

exit ramp to a new entrance ramp

Ramp ReconfigurationsSouthbound Van Wyck Expressway (from north to south)

Proposed view of southbound exit ramp between

Atlantic and 101st Avenues

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Close existing southbound entrance ramp between Liberty

and 109th Avenues – traffic will use either the new entrance

ramp between 101st and Liberty Avenues or existing Linden

Boulevard entrance ramp

Southbound Van Wyck Expressway (VWE) operations will

be modified to follow the current collector-distributor road

Ramp ReconfigurationsSouthbound Van Wyck Expressway (from north to south)

Relocate entrance

ramp from North

Conduit Avenue to

westbound Belt

Parkway 200 feet

to the east

Proposed view of exit ramp from North Conduit

Avenue to westbound Belt Parkway

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Build Alternative – Anticipated Benefits Corridor-wide travel improvements

Reduced travel times on Van Wyck Expressway

mainline, service roads and cross streets

Reduced truck traffic on local roadways

Proposed view of southbound service road at

entrance ramp between 101st and Liberty Avenues

Proposed southbound exit ramp to Linden Boulevard

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Build Alternative – Anticipated Benefits Upgraded intersections along the service roads with

ADA-compliant curb ramps and push buttons at

crosswalks

Extended service life of bridge structures

Proposed view of southbound service road

at 102nd Avenue

Proposed Foch Boulevard bridge (looking south)

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Key Environmental Topics

Transportation Air Quality

Construction

Historic Resources Noise

Water Resources Coastal

Resources

Environmental

Justice

Visual

ResourcesStormwater

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Transportation

lane narrowing

lane shifts

night-time/off-peak lane closures

Beneficial long-term effect to traffic due to

increased capacity and decreased congestion

Temporary effects on Van Wyck Expressway during

construction:

Temporary traffic and pedestrian detours on local

streets would be required during construction at

overpass bridges

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Transportation – Transit Access to mass transit would be maintained at

all times during construction

Work on Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) bridges would

require variety of track outages of varying durations,

resulting in temporary effects to some rail

passengers:

increased travel times

additional transfers

platform “walkovers”

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Right-of-Way No private property will be acquired

Permanent Easements would be acquired from the City of New York for all local bridges over Van Wyck Expressway (VWE) and bridge approaches

A Permanent Easement would be acquired from Long Island Rail Road along the northbound VWE mainline and service road

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Environmental Justice No disproportionately

high and adverse

effects on minority or

low-income

populations

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Air Quality Evaluated criteria pollutants (e.g., ozone, carbon

monoxide, particulate matter (PM), etc.), mobile source

air toxics (MSAT), greenhouse gases and energy use

Criteria pollutants and MSAT emissions from traffic within

Study Area would be lower under Build Alternative as

compared to No Build Alternative

No exceedances of PM10 and PM2.5 National Ambient Air

Quality Standards were predicted

Total direct/indirect estimated energy consumption and

carbon dioxide (CO2e) emissions would be lower under

Build Alternative as compared to No Build Alternative

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Noise Traffic noise impacts identified at residences, parks,

cemeteries, schools, places of worship, hospitals

12 noise barriers recommended along project corridor

Block the direct path of sound waves from the

highway (source) to adjacent residences (receptor)

Remaining unabated impacts involve noise level

increases of 3 decibels or less over existing conditions

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Both solid & transparent barriers considered

NYSDOT committed to transparent noise panels for

portions of barriers greater than 10 feet in height

Benefited residents are being given opportunity

to vote on installation of noise walls

Potential noise barriers along VWE service roads

Noise

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Visual Resources Neutral and adverse visual impacts on existing

visual quality, due to removal of vegetation and

addition of potential noise barriers

Supplemental plantings and use of transparent noise

barriers could be used to mitigate adverse impacts

Proposed view of southbound service road between

105th Avenue and 107th Avenue

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Historic/Cultural Resources Evaluated project area to identify the potential

for effects to historic properties/resources

3 historic Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) bridges

will be adversely affected

Developed Draft Memorandum of Agreement to

resolve the adverse effects, per State Historic

Preservation Office guidelines

Low potential for presence

of archaeological

resources within areas of

disturbance

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Stormwater Net increase of approximately 12.17 acres

of new impervious surface and

approximately 7.23 acres of redevelopment

Water quality treatment and increased

stormwater runoff volumes would be

mitigated via Stormwater Management

Practices, which would reduce frequency

and intensity of combined sewer overflow

(CSO) to Bergen Basin and Jamaica Bay

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Water Resources No adverse impacts to

Bergen Basin

No adverse effects to

groundwater

No wetlands within Study Area

No in-water work

No change to 100-year or

500-year floodplains

Would not cause an increase

in flood levels in surrounding

areas

Bergen

BasinJFK Airport

Federal

Circle

Jamaica Bay

Van Wyck Expressway/Belt

Parkway Interchange

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Coastal Resources Section of the study

area south of the Belt

Parkway is within the

New York City Coastal

Zone

Project is consistent

with NYS Coastal Zone

policies and the NYC

Waterfront Revitalization

Program

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Construction Effects

Communication through on-site community liaison, project office, website, and social media

Temporary effects during construction

A Construction Noise Mitigation Plan would be

developed during final design

Air and noise monitoring to protect workers and the

adjacent communities

Dust, rodent/pest control measures

Construction of new retaining wall

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Public Outreach Scoping Meeting Elected Official briefings Community Board meetings Public Hearings Public Information meeting Project website (https://www.dot.ny.gov/vwe)

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Stakeholder Coordination Elected officials

Community Boards – Queens 6, 8, 9, 10 & 12

General public

Joint Lead Agencies – Federal Highway

Administration & NYS Department of Transportation

Cooperating Agencies

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Aviation Administration

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation –

State Historic Preservation Office

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Stakeholder Coordination Participating Agencies

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) – Long Island Rail Road

MTA – New York City Transit

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

NYC Department of Transportation

NYC Department of City Planning

NYC Department of Environmental Protection

NYC Department of Parks and Recreation

New York Metropolitan Transportation Council

New York and Atlantic Railway

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NEPA Project Schedule

Next Steps Review public comments

Prepare Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) / Record of Decision

June 1,

2017

September 27, 2017 February 1, 2019 February 27, 2019

February 28, 2019Summer 2019

Notice of

Intent

Final EIS/

Record of

Decision

Public

Information

Meeting

Public

Hearings

Scoping

MeetingRelease of

Draft EIS

March 25, 2019

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Project Cost and ScheduleThree (3) Design-Build Contracts

Contract 1: Modify 9 overpasses from Hillside to 133rd

Avenues (approx. $240 million, start construction winter 2020)

Contract 2: Retrofit/replace 4 LIRR bridges and modify 1

overpass (approx. $460 million, start construction fall 2020)

Contract 3: Widen Van Wyck Expressway, reconfigure ramps,

modify 8 bridges, 1 new bridge (approx. $520 million, start

construction spring 2022, complete construction fall 2024)

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How You Can Comment

The FHWA and NYSDOT will consider all comments received

on or by April 1, 2019.

Responses to substantive comments will be included in the

Final Environmental Impact Statement, which will be posted on

the project website (https://www.dot.ny.gov/VWE).