Metropolis officers have indefinitely delayed a program to robotically ticket chubby trucks the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway — permitting heavy massive rigs to proceed to overwhelm a crumbling stretch of the roadway.
Division of Transportation officers final 12 months promised the ticketing program could be up and working by the tip of 2022, and stated sensors to weigh trucks had been already in place.
However on Wednesday a number of lawmakers who characterize components of Brooklyn stated DOT officers briefed them on issues with the know-how — and gave no timeline for the launch of the ticketing program.
The federal authorized restrict for trucks is 80,000 kilos.
“Anything that furthers the deterioration of the roadway is of great consequence and of great concern,” New York State Meeting member Jo Ann Simon advised Gothamist. “I’m very frustrated that we weren’t told until now.”
At concern, Simon stated, is how to calibrate the load sensors to conform with nationwide requirements.
The sensors additionally aren’t even put in in each instructions — solely on the Queens-bound facet of the roadway. The DOT stated it plans to set up the sensors on the Staten Island-bound part this spring.
Different lawmakers briefed on the delays stated they felt blindsided.
Metropolis Councilmember Lincoln Restler stated the change in course “undermines confidence in any and all updates we receive from DOT on the complex and critical BQE project.”
The difficulty is made public because the DOT prepares to make pressing repairs this spring to the badly deteriorated triple-cantilever part of the BQE, which is tucked beneath the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The company has already diminished the variety of lanes in that part from three to two in an effort to prolong its life.
DOT spokesperson Vin Baron stated the company is “rigorously monitoring” the deteriorating part and “working through remaining internal and external administrative processes” to launch the ticketing program.
Metropolis officers final month unveiled a set of choices to rebuild the triple-cantilevered part of the BQE, together with proposals to rebuild the roadway and encompass it with extra greenspace.
However State Sen. Andrew Gounardes fearful the street may crumble earlier than the rebuild begins.
“It really calls into question whether the strategy of moving ahead this way is ultimately going to be the right one,” Gounardes stated. “It’s something I’m very concerned about.”