6 JANUARY 31, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
City inching closer to fi nally rebuilding Grand Street Bridge
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BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
The Grand Street Bridge on the
Maspeth/Brooklyn border
could be getting a contractor for
a rebuild 16 years in the making.
Community Board 5 District Manager
Gary Giordano said the advisory
board received an email notifi cation
on Jan. 22 that followed up to a request
for proposals (RFP) put out in June
looking for bids.
“It’s a very, very important project that
we shall not give up on,” Giordano said.
“It is an example of how cooperative one
can be that people can stop and let another
vehicle go by. I wish other drivers on
other roads and bridges were as considerate
these drivers are. We need more
consideration on our roads and bridges.”
The Grand Street Bridge was originally
built in 1903 and 227 feet across,
but at a 19 foot, 7 inch width, cars and
trucks generally need wait for other
vehicles already making the crossing
to pass before taking the road despite
it being two lanes.
CB5 never gave up the fi ght for the
115 year old bridge to be rebuilt to
suit the needs of the businesses who
operate along Newtown Creek, such as
the nearby concrete plant on the south
side of the thoroughfare.
But since DOT released a Request
for Proposals (RFP) in June, CB5 found
that their eff ort, very much still alive,
to have the bridge replaced may fi nally
come to fruition and to the specifi cations
they had wanted.
According to the RFP, the controls are
antiquated, fender system has degenerated
and the some of the structural members
are not up to the task of carrying the
loads required of the bridge.
Extremely busy in its early years,
the Grand Street Bridge opened for
passing boats 5,000 times in 1918, but
the RFP said it has not been raised at all
since 2012, about the time some damage
was sustained during Superstorm
Sandy, though it is not certain if that is
the reason why.
Giordano said DOT at fi rst planned
to build fi xed-span bridge, but arguments
were made from the community
board to replace the structure with
one that will raise up to continue
to meet the needs of commerce in
the area.
A meeting between CB5 in 2002 and
the then-director of Movable Bridges
for DOT showed that the Grand
Street Bridge was “barely” turned
(the bridge swivels on a concrete
pedestal when boat traffi c needs to
pass), and funds were allocated for
a possible rebuild in 2006. This new
bridge would be 24 to 26 feet wide
with sidewalks.
But the RFP released in June
calls for a movable bridge that will
protect the structural and electrical
components from the elements while
ensuring a 75-year lifespan.
The U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
will be paying for the scope
of the job under the RFP which will
start in June 2019 and end in 2026.
In 2015, Sandy related repairs were
made to the bridge’s mechanical
and electrical systems by DOT and
in years prior they had completed
some resurfacing of sidewalks and
roadways, CB5 records showed.
The bridge was also closed multiple
times in 2017 for diff erent types
of repair work.
On two occasions in September
and October 2018, the bridge was
completely closed for repairs to the
steel grating. Diagonal bracing work
also shut down the bridge recently.
Photo: Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Two trucks cross Newtown Creek via the Grand Street Bridge. Residents
and businesses alike have a long history of complaining about the
bridge’s narrow width and dilapadated structure.
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