DOT suspends Cross-Bronx Expressway bridge rehab project

Gothamist— Giulia Heyward

Plans to rehabilitate a stretch of the Cross-Bronx Expressway are on hold after years of pushback from Bronx residents and elected officials who argued the state’s proposal would worsen pollution and endanger residents’ health by widening roadways.

The state Department of Transportation announced Monday it is suspending the Cross Bronx Expressway Five Bridges Project and will not release the project’s final environmental assessment.

The project aimed to repair or replace five aging bridges along the expressway. But community groups and elected officials criticized parts of the proposal, arguing it would worsen congestion and pollution in a borough where asthma rates are among the city’s highest.

Last year, DOT dropped plans for an elevated diversion road after opponents said it would increase traffic and harm the tree canopy near the Bronx River and Starlight Park.