New York governor announces $1.8 billion interchange reconstruction

New York — New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced a $1.8 billion project to transform the South Bronx by realizing the long-sought reconstruction of the Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange. The Sheridan Expressway will be de-designated as an interstate and replaced with a boulevard design that is both pedestrian and cyclist friendly. The improvements to the Sheridan will tie neighborhoods together and give residents and visitors alike a direct connection to the Bronx River waterfront and Starlight Park which have been shut off to the community by the highway for decades.

The project will also provide direct access to the Hunts Point Market, one of the largest food distribution centers in the world, from both the Bruckner Expressway and the new Sheridan Boulevard. More than 78,000 vehicles travel to the Hunts Point Peninsula daily, including 13,000 trucks using local roads, which has increased and contributed to poor air quality in the community.

These new measures will take traffic off local roadways, significantly reducing both noise and air pollution in a borough with some of the highest asthma rates in the country. The transformational project is expected to create 4,250 new jobs.

The $1.8 billion project will be completed in multiple phases, the first of which will be funded by $700 million in this year’s budget.