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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).