New lanes on Van Wyck Expressway open in Queens as part of $1.4 billion project
New lanes on the Van Wyck Expressway are finally open after years of construction.
The managed-use lanes were supposed to be finished by the end of September but opened Friday. They are high occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lanes for buses, taxis and other vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger.
It marks a major milestone in a project that has been years in the making.
The latest $1.4 billion overhaul started in 2020, spanning more than four miles between the Kew Gardens Interchange and JFK Airport.
"Navigating the Van Wyck Expressway to get to and from JFK has all too often been a test of endurance for motorists regardless of the time of day, but thankfully that is starting to change," said Gov. Hochul in a statement.
The work was divided into three major phases.
Crews rebuilt highway overpasses, reconfigured entrance and exit ramps and replaced bridges carrying Long Island Rail Road trains over the expressway near Jamaica Stations.
Beneath the roadway, crews upgraded drainage systems to help reduce flooding in surrounding neighborhoods.
The road was built in the 1940s and has endured some level of construction nearly every decade since.
But while the state has been busy rebuilding, drivers say they have been paying the price. Some said the frustration extends beyond the expressway itself.
"I've been in this area for 20, 30 years. I ain't never seen it this worse," said Queens resident Larry Fisher. "Terrible. Sloppy. Not coordinated. It's a lot of incidents going on. Nobody is looking into it. People are having car accidents because they're leaving the divider things out."
Driver Matthew Ramjattan echoed the sentiment.
"Over by the Jamaica Hospital area, it's horrible," he said. "In the evening, almost an hour, or an hour and a half, when it used to take 20 minutes."
Nearby businesses have been feeling the impact too with blocked access and changing traffic patterns.
However, the entire project isn't finished yet. The state said nearby service road work will continue, with completion expected later this year.
