Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Dangerous Gowanus Expressway

Great minds think alike. The Daily Eagle did a story on the dangerous situation we have with the Gowanus Expressway:

According to the New York State Department of Transportation, its concrete riding surface is crumbling, and the network of the expressway’s supporting steel beams is also deteriorating. Additionally, undrained dirt and salt-laden water flood and corrode the highway.

The Gowanus is currently being re-decked as it undergoes “continual emergency repairs,” according to the state Department of Transportation. It will be in a state of repair until 2012, said Harold Fink, the DOT’s Gowanus Expressway project manager. At a recent Community Board 7 meeting, Fink acknowledged the Gowanus’ “rapid rate” of deterioration.

Good quotes in the article from neighborhood institutions Buddy Scotto and Joanne Simon.

Although the costs significantly differ, Simon argues that the tunnel is a long-term investment. “The life of an overhead is roughly 50 years; the life of a tunnel is at least 200,” she said, adding, “A tunnel is much cheaper to maintain.”