The city will begin cracking down on overweight trucks on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, better known as the BQE.
Aldo Marín, a truck driver, indicates: “It won’t damage the highway other cars and well, I think that it will also help with time because just as they made more lanes in the George Washington, here it will be the same, not very trucks big only small cars and small trucks, everything will move faster.”
Executives from the city Department of Transportation say this is an attempt to increase the longevity of this highway.
Paul Schwartz, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Transportation’s Bridge Division:
“He is over 70 years old. And like any bridge or structure that’s been in service for that long and has received the amount of wear and tear that this structure has received, you know, there are repairs that need to be made. And we’re looking to do some of those repairs as soon as this year.”
He stressed that the BQE is a safe highway and one of the most monitored structures in the city, but that very heavy vehicles have damaged the highway.
To find out the weight of the trucks, the city is using a new “weight in motion” system.
This state-of-the-art technology involves a series of sensors and cameras that are going to be installed on the road.
According to authorities, the plan is to install them first in Queens-bound traffic, and as for Staten Island-bound traffic, they are expected to be installed later this year.
Trucks must weigh a maximum of 80,000 pounds. Those who break the rule will be fined $650 starting November 8.
Some drivers we spoke to told us this would be a setback for those who drive heavy vehicles.
“But you also have to find the right place where heavy transport can also pass because I also drive with a truck that carries weight and it is my only route so far because I cannot go through another one,” says Olga Reyes, truck driver. .
DOT says repair plans are in the works and will require some weekend closures.
And that the first fixes, which will probably take place in late September and early October, will have a major impact on traffic.
2023-08-13 18:47:00
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