The modernization of New York’s Van Wyck Expressway is substantially complete. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the completion of main line work on the Van Wyck Expressway last week, including the opening of new managed-use lanes for taxis and high-occupancy vehicles in both directions between the Kew Gardens Interchange and Atlantic Avenue and John F. Kennedy Airport, according to a press release from the New York Governor's Office. 

The famously congested roadway now encourages the use of taxis and vehicles carrying multiple passengers to help speed up trips to and from the airport. The managed-use lanes are open to private vehicles, taxis and for-hire vehicles carrying a driver and at least one passenger, as well as buses. 

While most of the work is complete, the accompany rehabilitation of nearby service roads is expected to be finished later this year as part of the $1.4 billion project. 

The modernization project reworked the entire corridor between the airport and the Kew Gardens Interchange in Queens to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion on the surrounding local street network, according to the press release. 

Other project components include reconfiguring highway geometry to provide longer entrance and exit ramps, upgrading drainage systems and installing traffic management technology. 

Three Phases Transform 4.3 Miles of Highway

Work began in 2020 with the replacement of the Long Island Rail Road Atlantic 6 bridge over the Van Wyck Expressway, alongside the launch of the first of three phases to transform the 4.3-mile section of the highway. 

The $342 million first phase was completed in 2023 with the rehabilitation or replacement of nine overpasses carrying traffic over the expressway. This work extended the structures’ lifespans and created enough space between them for the managed-use lanes. 

The $318 million second phase began in 2021 with the replacement and improvement of four bridges carrying the Long Island Rail Road Main Line and the Atlantic and Montauk branches over the expressway near Jamaica Station. The phase also included the replacing signal equipment, power infrastructure and drainage systems on the approaches to the new bridges, replacing the Atlantic Avenue bridge and reconstructing the northbound and southbound service roads between Archer and Atlantic avenues. 

The $804 million third phases included construction of the managed-use lanes and the replacement, rehabilitation and construction of 10 bridges that span the Van Wyck or carry the expressway over other roadways, according to the press release. Several entrance and exit ramps were reconfigured to improve safety, and the area sewer system was upgraded to better manage stormwater runoff and help prevent flooding in neighborhoods throughout southeast Queens. 

• The bridges rehabilitated or repaired in phase three include:
• The northernmost Van Wyck Expressway bridge over Federal Circle
• The northbound expressway bridge over the southbound Exit1/1E Ramp
• The Nassau Expressway bridge over the Van Wyck Expressway
• The northbound and southbound Van Wyck Expressway bridges over South Conduit Avenue, the Belt Parkway and North Conduit Avenue
• The 86th Avenue Pedestrian Bridge 
• The southbound Van Wyck Expressway bridge over southbound Main Street

Across all three phases, the project rehabilitated or replaced a total of 23 bridges. Crews also constructed a new bridge to carry the Van Wyck Expressway’s southbound managed-use lane over the Exit 1/1E ramp. 

The modernization project builds on earlier work completed by the New York State Department of Transportation, including the $739 million modernization of the Kew Gardens Interchange, completed in December 2022, and the $124 million viaduct rehabilitation along the Van Wyck Expressway between 57th Avenue and the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, completed in February 2024. 

Source: New York Governor's Office