WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MARCH 1, 2018 3
City DOT updates Board 5 about delayed bridge project
Photo by Ryan Kelley/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Traffi c backs up in the construction zone on Fresh Pond Road at the intersection of Metropolitan Avenue on Feb. 23.
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BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
With traffi c nightmares and
struggling businesses surrounding
the Metropolitan
Avenue bridge deck repair project
in Middle Village, offi cials from the
Department of Transportation went
to Glendale to personally update Community
Board 5 with the latest details.
At a Feb. 27 meeting of Board 5’s
Transportation Committee, DOT
Queens Borough Commissioner Nicole
Garcia and Deputy Commissioner
Jason Banrey addressed the controversial
project and tried to reassure the
committee and frustrated residents
that the work will get done.
According to Banrey, the DOT has
now narrowed its choices down to four
possible contractors.
“These are individuals that we’ve
done work like this type of project
before,” Banrey said. “We’re confi dent
in their ability to fi nish before the end
of the year.”
Banrey added that DOT is still aiming
to have the construction completed
in August, and one of the biggest
components of the selection process
is being sure the new contractor can
meet that deadline. The choice should
be made by the end of next week,
Banrey said, and the department will
“move forward aggressively” to pick
up where the last contractor left off .
One resident spoke up about how
frustrating it is to live in the vicinity
of Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh
Pond Road, saying they “get the
runaround” from the DOT. Banrey
responded by saying, “We’ve heard
it loud and clear. Any time you guys
bring it to my email attention, or calls
or anything, they hear about it downtown.
We’re pushing just as hard as
you guys.”
The 24-hour traffic enforcement
agents at the construction site were also
brought up during the meeting. Banrey
encouraged people to let him know if
the agents are ever absent so that he
can alert the NYPD. The committee then
expressed a need for an additional agent
to the east of the intersection of Metropolitan
Avenue and Fresh Pond Road.
Earlier in the day on Feb. 27, Councilman
Robert Holden sent a letter to the
DOT for good measure to emphasize the
importance of expediting this project.
“I am extremely frustrated with DOT’s
inability to provide answers and its
continued practice of apathy while the
livelihood of my constituents is at risk,”
Holden said in the letter. “My constituents
have waited long enough to see this
project fi nished and I am not interested
in DOT’s excuses; I want to see action.”
