Long Island Brooklyn Queens Evacuation West- Cross Brooklyn Expressway Tunnel with IRT and enhanced Verazano Narrows Crossing

 

A Cross Brooklyn Expressway is a MUST, together with a MANDATORY addition of capacity to continue west towards New Jersey via Staten Island.

 

The Cross Brooklyn Expressway obviously must be a fully enclosed rectangular tunnel box set, equipped with exhaust filtration and covered with a new linear park. 

It must not be a brutalist design as per the 1967-69 proposed Linear City with its proposed new buildings, and its *semi* enclosed tunnelways.

 

Nor can it be a set of merely 3 through lane roadways stacked atop each other to fit within the mere 80 foot wide right of way of the existing LIRR Bay Ridge RR.  It must of course include the long proposed "Bi Borough" IRT, underground, along with extra heavy railroad tracks. for a minimum of three heavy RR tracks, and 2 IRT tracks.  Sadly the expressway box tunnel requires clearing buildings.  But to minimize the use of residential properties, have it slice through Brooklyn College, fully enclosed, and be sure to give all displaced residences a full 3 1/5 x existing fair market value (at the time of this writing), or 1 1/2 x such, together with replacement housing of equal of greater interior square footage, perhaps within new 4 or 5 or 6 story military academy scaled mansion styled architecture buildings, together with generous off street parking, of a minimum of 5 cars per unit.

 

My previously proposed idea of a direct tunnel to New Jersey is excessively expensive, and has the detriment of requiring an all new parallel link alongside the existing I-78 spur to the Holland Tunnel.

Better is simply expanding and enclosing the existing 6 lane trench to its design width capacity of 12 lanes, and constructing a twin span to the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge.

Widen the Staten Island Expressway, using its existing corridor, together with a tunnel box enclosure upon its more populated area segments, to provide new land space atop for recreation.

 

Construct a new westbound roadway from I-278 in New Jersey extending to the west, so as to provide additional capacity extending inland away from a potential tsunami.  Ideally, construct a 3rd Goethals span, westbound only, with a greater capacity westbound roadway continuing past the New Jersey Turnpike.

 

Construct an all new Outerbridge Crossing, replacing the existing shoulder-less 2 lane in each direction span with a pair of spans each with 5 through lanes and s set of outer shoulders.

 

The additional capacity for the Goethals has the distinct advantage over the Outerbridge for being further inland.  Therefore it is advisable to construct a new westbound roadway extending from I-278 inland.

Long Island Additional Evacuation Capacity/Amtrak Trans Sound Rail/I-180/I-80 Southern Westchester Link

 The northern U.S. region MUST have an additional bypass, from I-80 & the existing northern terminus of the New Jersey Turnpike through southern Westchester County to I-95, together with a bridge-causeway linking New Rochelle to Long Island, together with a new cross sound rail link, as it is impractical to add a raillink to the Throggs Neck.

 

This bypass starts immediately east of the existing eastern terminus of I-80, along the Northern Railroad corridor, briefly elevated to avoid the marshlands potential flooding and to cross over Route 4, before descending into a cut and cover tunnel. 

 

Further north, this cut and cover tunnel veers northeasterly. easterly, towards a golf course, to emerge from its portal at the Palisades Parkway, to transition to a new span across the Hudson River, to Yonkers, landing at the short block or so long "Bridge Street" continuing east along Ludlow Street, heading towards the Saw Mill River valley and Parkway.

Technical advice is here solicited for the best way to cross the high mountain ridge.  As I doubt that anyone wants a Maryland I-68 style deep mountain cut, we need to explore tunneling techniques, likely with a pair of large tunnel bores, sufficiently wide to render at least a full set of right-hand shoulders.

 

Said tunnels would emerge just west of the Saw Mill Parkway, with an artistically styled span crossing over, continuing east into a cut and cover tunnel segment displacing and replacing the Lincoln High School, and so continuing to a second artfully designed viaduct to pass over I-87 and along through the southern parking area of the Casino-Raceway Park, and subsequently over the Bronx River Parkway, to enter a cut and cover tunnel segment in Mt. Vernon along 2nd Street, to a set of connections with the I-684 North Central Road Upstate Gateway Expressway Tunnel system, with I-80 continuing east over the Hurchinson River Parkway upon a new artfully styled arched span, and enter another cut and cover tunnel segment, along the Metro North to New Rochelle (with no access to downtown Pelham).

 

I-80 Tunnel would emerge along the western side of the I-95 corridor, with generous use of tunnel box enclosure for muffling traffic noise and giving back surface space.

 

Immediately north, northeast, the I-180 spur (cut and cover) would veer towards Long Island Sound via a thankfully located bit of industrial waterfront, along with an all new railroad spur.

 

Both the expressway and the railway would here enter into a new box tunnel causeway, with the roadbed just below the waterline, but with the tunnel box standing up as a new pier- shaped land-way, and continuing into the Long Island Sound, with a drawspan, or turn-style span for the railroad, and an overhead span for the expressway.

 

This causeway would land in Long Island at the northeastern corner of the Port Washington peninsula, and continue as enclosed tunnel box, either directly off the existing northeast shoreline, if not a new swath paralleling just inland, so swinging to avoid displacing the dwellings along the coast, before entering a golf course.

This project would continue south to the corridor of the previously planned Roslyn Freeport Expressway which was in-explicitly cancelled in 1953. 

I-180 would employ generous use of tunnel box enclosure and have its interchange with the Long Island Expressway, with a spur continuing south at least to Mineola.

 

The railroad component is particulalry needed as the grade of the Throggs Neck is impractical for a railway, and because this New Rochelle to Port Washington causeway is far more financially and engineering practical that a railroad tunnel crossing under the Sound.

Upstate Access Evacuation Route(s) Clearview Tunnel/I-684/I-687/NYWB & Catskills Express further pondered

 

 

1- the Clearview Expressway extension MUST be a cut and cover tunnel. 

 

But not at the expense of creating a chasm at its northern end, immediately south of the interchange with the Grand Central Parkway (do note the topography, how it drops to the south).

 

To do it right, we MUST re-excavate the southernmost 1/3 of a mile or so of the EXISTING Clearview, and do so with a plan to completely remove and replace the Clearview-Grand Central Parkway interchange, best with a overpass design mimicking the previous multi arched GCP bridge/overpass.

 

And that means shutting down the Cleaview south of Union Pike, with the possible exception of maintaining a eastbound GCP to northbound Clearview through the reconstruction.

 

Clearly this Tunneled reconstruction and extension would continue south before turning to parallel Hempstead Avenue before turning south at Belmont Park to parallel the Cross Island Parkway, flanking each side, until the interchange (retained) with the Southern State Parkway, before its northbound lanes emerge further south with the northbound lanes immediately to the west.  Eminent domain is required, so we have the space later to bury CIP/Belt, with at a minimum 3.5 x fair market value, for a high capacity, cut and cover mixed use interstate expressway.

 

Notably though (and quite sadly), the planning authorities erected a "UBS" Arena, directly in the path, complicating this, and best in need of demolition, as far as I can see.  This UBS Arena was erected only as recently as 2019-2021, and represents the sadly typical contempt of road planning by the authorities & their associated elites.

2- We need a more capacious as well as STURDIER Throggs Neck Bridge crossing.

 

Lets see the development of plans for a pair of 8 lane bridges ideally, with sturdy, stocky legs more able to withstand a tsunami.  Our security demand absolutely nothing less.

 

 3- We must have a separate new crossing to the west.  Namely a pair of new road bridges perhaps mimicking the classic style of the Hells Gate RR Bridge.  Connect this to the south via a new Inter borough Expressway Park Covered Cut and Cover Tunnel.  Do it together with the, not "Bi" Borough, but rather a Borough (or even a Quad Borough with a bridge or tunnel to Staten Island as long anticipated. Reconnect the former NYW&B, removing the apartment/condo buildings foolishly placed upon it right of way to the north of 177th Street) IRT line.  

 

Reconstruct the entire lower Bruckner, (along with the lower Deegan expanded from 6 to 8 through lanes), removing that disgusting elevated monstrosity flanked by new higher capacity cut and cover tunnels.  Restore the NYWB stations, widen and tunnel lid the land segment foolishly converted to a "boulevard", and construct an 8 lane tunnel extending north, northeasterly beneath the Zoo, perhaps with a long bored tunnel paralleling the Bronx River Parkway north to the Sprain and or I-87, and 4 to 6 lanes along Route 1 likewise as tunnel, to join with the new North Central Road Tunnel along the west side of the restored NYWB.  Construct an aerial tunnel with wooden planks atop without heavy soil, and continue it northward to Webster Avenue to enter the Wykagil Bathtub, with a split with the start of a new route I-687 as previously discussed in this blog.  Have it cross over Pine Brook Boulevard in an aerial tunnel with a soil roof for new recreation space, crossing under Weaver Street and arcing northward behind the Quaker Ridge School. continuing north in new linear park tunnel aligned with that existing to the north, displacing and replacing the Heathecote School building and continuing paralleling the Heathecote Bypass before arcing to parallel the 4 lane Mamaroneck Avenue and connect with an all new I-684 interchange.

Additionally, reconstruct the lower Deegan, expanded from 6 to 8 through lanes with full left and right shoulders, removing that ridiculous new building along the waterfront south of Yankee Stadium to construct a pair of cut and cover Deegan expressway tunnels as I posted in this blog back in November 2009.

 

And be sure to prevent any further such development, as I exposed, being pushed by the usual astroturf front organizations pimping for some shadowy network of elites hell bent upon stymieing an improved design road system.

Upstate Gateway/Hastings On Hudson Span with New RR Further Elaborated

My previous article about this idea:

https://cos-mobile.blogspot.com/2024/02/i-684i-687-nyw-plus-upstate-gateway.html

In developing this I-684/I-687 Upstate Gateway Project, I had initially included the "NYWB" as a logical accompanying mode.  Just look at that I-95 233rd Street ramp set immediately west of Co Op City, pointing right at the Dyre Avenue IRT.  Indisputably needed for uncorking what would be an insane traffic bottleneck coming up from Long Island. (Which begs the question, why was the Central Corridor Expressway not pursued?  After all, much of the route in Westchester, indeed about everything past Mt Vernon, was NOT yet built up in the years immediately following WW2.  And wtf?  Why did they removed the NYWB, specifically the mainline to White Plains?  And if they did, why not some sort of vehicular road, even if only a single lane in each direction while leaving space for future capacity addition?  All we would get in that regard is the Heathecote Bypass, with no apparent talk of at least extending that south into New Rochelle to Pine Brook Boulevard, or north into White Plains to the 4 lane Mamaroneck Avenue, getting it past Archbishop Stepinac HS and Our Lady of Sorrows Church.

 

But how about this- wtf about the NYC metro regional area developing a more suitable new railroad link to the west?  We know that Manhattan's RR tunnels are in sorry shape.  And we can not deny the utter sheer stupidity of NO heavy RR suitable for FREIGHT rail anywhere along the Hudson River, until 140 miles to the north at Selkirk, by Albany.  WTF?  And don't get me started on the situation with how the planning for the I-287 corridor from Sufferan to White Plains was undermined, particularly with the weird planning swap in 2011-2012 with the illegal sacking of the replacement Tappan Zee Bridges lower deck suspiciously omitted from the EIS with not a peep from the cacophony of phony liberal progressive transportation and environmentalist activist advocacy groups, such as this and this.

 

 

We blew it on the replacement TPZ, even abandoning a pair of nice designs with well shaped artfully sculpted supports in favor of a pair of ordinary skinny legs with towers suggestive of a devils hand-sign, outward canted, perhaps even to disallow more than a single RR track for double stacked rail cars.  WTF?

So we cant do anything about the TPZ for a while.

But how about to the south?

Well, a Yonkers Bridge is a bit problematic, due to that huge bridge, which no one is going to allow having it cut away like I-68 in western Maryland, and which would be challenging at best to drill multiple moled tunnels along each other.

But look at Hastings on the Hudson.  Yes, that other new Hudson River Bridge crossing between the TPZ and the GWB.

No ridge blocking that as in Yonkers.

And consider that 1979 television show SUPERTRAIN.  Yes it was corny with that extra wide gauge track, and a travel intenary that made little sense- e.g. why not show it going anywhere in New Jersey or Pennsylvania?  Let along upstate New York, not even Buffalo.  Nor how about Detroit, or, Chicago?

But do recall what it suggested.  A train that leaves NYC Manhattan's Grand Central Station, emerging from it tunnel at about 96th Street (on a single track. wtf).

But then what?

A train leaving Grand central heading north and the swinging west.

 

SUPERTRAIN failed to show just how.

 

But clearly there is only one really good option, the Hastings on the Hudson Cross Hudson Bridge to Alpine New Jersey (at the very northeaster corner of that state).

 

This I-684/I-687 proposed project includes such a RR link, essentially as a YY configuration of both RR and expressway.

 

Now it does not go to Grand central, but rather the eastern Bronx down to alongside the Bruckner Expressway, tying into the RR proposal made by the group RETHINK NYC, which does a great deal of excellent work.

 

But it could so connect with Grand central, via the RR along the Westchester County western side, of the eastern shore of the Hudson River, with a set of underground loop RR ramps to make the grade change up to our new I-687 with RR in the new river crossing spans lower deck.  With a 6 or 8 lane span, lets include a minimum of 5 RR lanes within its lower deck, with that RR continuing to the west of the Palisades Parkway, to connect with New Jersey's Northern RR.

Given this idea;s intrinsic logic, what studies have the authorities ever conducted upon such a RR link?