17th Avenue pedestrian bridge construction ramping up in Brooklyn after years of delays
Construction on a long-awaited pedestrian bridge connecting Bath Beach to the waterfront is set to ramp Friday night, nearly three years after the city promised the project would be complete.
The 17th Avenue pedestrian bridge over the Belt Parkway was closed in 2021 and demolished after oversized trucks repeatedly became stuck beneath it. The New York City Department of Transportation had initially promised the bridge would be rebuilt by 2023.
The closure has forced residents to walk about a mile to reach the waterfront Shore Parkway Promenade that once was just steps away.
Longtime Bath Beach resident Mike Smollar, who lives across the street from the site of the future bridge, says the walkway was one of the best parts about living here.
"Go by the water, take walks, bicycle rides," he said.
Marnee Elias-Pavia, district manager of Brooklyn Community Board 11, said residents have been frustrated by what she described as inconsistent communication about the project.
"Like any big job, there's all these delays, but I think people would have been less frustrated and more understanding if communication lines were open," she said, adding it was easier to get updates in the past six months.
The bridge site has remained largely unchanged for years.
Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso, who represents District 47 connecting Bay Ridge to Coney Island through Bath Beach, said she has heard from residents who are frustrated by the lack of visible progress.
"They're walking past this bridge, and they're not even seeing any work done," she said.
Officials say part of the confusion is that the new bridge is being manufactured off-site before being transported to the location.
Installation work is scheduled to ramp up starting at 11 p.m. Friday. Construction will take place overnight and is expected to require lane closures on the Belt Parkway through Sunday night.
Santosuosso said she's been pushing for answers since the start of her term.
"Met with the commissioner of DOT and, you know, pressed upon him that this was something that is taking way too long, that we haven't gotten answers and that we wanted to see this completed," she told CBS News New York.
A source at DOT said the bridge is expected to be finished this year, after delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, steel fabrication, underground utilities and design changes.
Some residents say they will celebrate if the project is finally completed.
"I'll be out here with a bottle of champagne," said Bath Beach resident Angelo Arena, adding he's skeptical about the timeline. "No way is it going to be done."
Smollar also said he is not convinced the bridge will be ready by the end of the year.
"There's nothing here but dirt and rocks. There's a ramp that goes nowhere. There's no way, no way that this is going to be done in three and a half months," he said.
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